Why does a horse dominate Caravaggio’s Conversion of St. Paul?

In Caravaggio’s The Conversion of St. Paul, the horse dominates the upper half of the composition as a central element of the artist's stripped-down, austere approach to the narrative. By placing the "patient, heavy horse" and its groom in the shadows above the fallen Paul, Caravaggio emphasizes the humble, stable-like setting of the divine encounter.12

Beyond its role in establishing this grounded, human environment, the horse’s placement may also serve a pointed artistic purpose. It has been suggested that Caravaggio intentionally arranged the composition so that the horse’s rump is turned toward the face of the Virgin Mary in the chapel's altarpiece, which was painted by his rival, Annibale Carracci. This positioning reflects the tension between Caravaggio’s "pauperist" view of Christian humility—which sought to foster identification among poor pilgrims—and the more decorous, awe-inspiring style favored by church authorities at the time.2