Paul preaching in the Areopagus

Paul stands preaching in Athens in the area where the ruling council met. He spoke against worshipping false idols, represented here by the classical statue of a Greek hero, probably Achilles. The painting includes an imagined classical architectural setting with a small round temple in the background.

Copy made 1729–31 from an original cartoon (preparatory drawing) for tapestries in the Sistine Chapel of 1515–16.

Given by Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford, in 1800