The Stoning of Saint Stephen

The pious Stephen was a member of the first Christian community in Jerusalem. He was stoned to death because he had accused priests of breaking the law. A crowd captured him and stoned him outside the city walls. Stephen thus became the first Christian martyr. From a distance Paul looks on. At the time he was still a fanatical persecutor of Christians.

A wide, open landscape with Roman ruins: this painting is typical for the works of Breenbergh.