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An apostolado (from Spanish; lit. 'apostolate'), or apostles series, is a series of individual portrait paintings of the apostles of Jesus Christ, sometimes including other figures, such as Jesus, Luke, Mary, and/or Paul. The first potential example of an apostolado stems from a pair of portraits of the apostles James the Elder and Philip by Albrecht Dürer in 1516, which he may have intended as a full series of twelve. In Spain, apostolados are a prevalent genre of art of the apostles, being popularized by Greco-Spanish painter El Greco and leading to other renowned artists of the genre such as Francisco de Zurbarán, Peter Paul Rubens, and Anthony van Dyck. Images of saints, and therefore the apostles, became popular in Catholic Europe during the Renaissance as a result of the Counter-Reformation, which in turn derived from a heavy emphasis of the Catholic doctrine of intercession of saints and opposition to Protestant iconoclasm.

Apostolados

Although the concept of the apostles in the context of Christianity generally refers to the first twelve apostles of Jesus Christ as enumerated in the Gospels (Judas Iscariot being replaced by Matthias due to his treachery), some apostolados contain portraits of other important figures in Christianity, such as Jesus, Paul, Mary, and/or Luke.

Series title	Artist	Notes	Andrew the First-Called	Bartholomew the Apostle	James the Elder	James the Younger	John the Beloved	Jude the Apostle	Matthew the Evangelist	Matthias the Apostle	Peter the Rock	Philip the Apostle	Simon the Zealot	Thomas the Twin	Jesus the Nazarene	Paul the Apostle	Luke the Evangelist	Reference(s)
Dürer's Apostle series	Albrecht Dürer		—	—	The Apostle James the Elder (Dürer) [Wikidata] 1516 Uffizi	—	—	—	—	—	—	Saint Philip (Dürer) [Wikidata] 1516 Uffizi	—	—	—	—	—
Apostolado de San Feliz [es]	El Greco		Saint Andrew (El Greco, Oviedo) [Wikidata] c. 1590 Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias	—	Saint James the Greater (El Greco, Oviedo) [Wikidata] c. 1590 Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias	Saint James the Lesser (El Greco, Oviedo) [Wikidata] c. 1590 Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias	John the Evangelist (El Greco, Oviedo) [Wikidata] c. 1590 Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias	Saint Judas Thadeus (El Greco, Oviedo) [Wikidata] c. 1590 Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias	Saint Matthew (El Greco, Oviedo) [Wikidata] c. 1590 Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias	—	Saint Peter (El Greco, Oviedo) [Wikidata] c. 1590 Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias	Saint Philip (El Greco, Oviedo) [Wikidata] c. 1590 Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias	Saint Simon (El Greco, Oviedo) [Wikidata] c. 1590 Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias	Saint Thomas (El Greco, Oviedo) [Wikidata] c. 1590 Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias	—	Saint Paul (El Greco, Oviedo) [Wikidata] c. 1590 Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias	Saint Luke (El Greco, Oviedo) [Wikidata] c. 1590 Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias
Apostolado de Almadrones [es]	El Greco and his workshop		The Apostle St. Andrew (El Greco, Los Angeles) [Wikidata] c. 1600 Los Angeles County Museum of Art	—	Saint James the Great (El Greco, Madrid) 1610 Museo del Prado	—	—	—	St. Matthew (El Greco, Indianapolis) [Wikidata] 1610 – 1614 Indianapolis Museum of Art	—	—	—	St. Simon (El Greco, Indianapolis) [Wikidata] 1610 – 1614 Indianapolis Museum of Art	Saint Thomas the Apostle (El Greco, Madrid) 1608 – 1614 Los Angeles County Museum of Art	The Saviour (El Greco, Madrid) 1608 – 1614 Museo del Prado	Saint Paul (El Greco, Madrid) 1610 – 1614 Museo del Prado	Saint Luke (El Greco, Madrid) 1610 – 1614 Indianapolis Museum of Art
Apostolate of the Museo del Greco [es]	El Greco and his workshop		The Apostle St. Andrew (El Greco, Toledo) [Wikidata] c. 1610 – c. 1614 Museo del Greco	Bartholomew the Apostle (El Greco, Toledo) [Wikidata] c. 1610 – c. 1614 Museo del Greco	Saint James the Great (El Greco, Toledo) [Wikidata] c. 1610 – c. 1614 Museo del Greco	Saint James the Less (El Greco, Toledo) [Wikidata] c. 1610 – c. 1614 Museo del Greco	Saint John the Evangelist (El Greco, Toledo, 1660) [Wikidata] c. 1610 – c. 1614 Museo del Greco	Apostle St Thaddeus (Jude) [Wikidata] c. 1610 – c. 1614 Museo del Greco	Apostle Saint Matthew (El Greco, Toledo) [Wikidata] c. 1610 – c. 1614 Museo del Greco	—	Apostle Saint Peter (El Greco, Toledo) [Wikidata] c. 1610 – c. 1614 Museo del Greco	Apostle Saint Philip (El Greco, Toledo) [Wikidata] c. 1610 – c. 1614 Museo del Greco	Apostle Saint Simon (El Greco, Toledo) [Wikidata] c. 1610 – c. 1614 Museo del Greco	Apostle St Thomas (El Greco, Toledo) [Wikidata] c. 1610 – c. 1614 Museo del Greco	Christ as Savior (El Greco, Toledo) [Wikidata] c. 1610 – c. 1614 Museo del Greco	Apostle Saint Paul (El Greco, Toledo) [Wikidata] c. 1610 – c. 1614 Museo del Greco	—
Apostolado Lerma [pl]	Peter Paul Rubens		The Apostle Andrew (Rubens) [Wikidata] c. 1611 Museo del Prado	Saint Bartholomew (Rubens) [Wikidata] c. 1611 Museo del Prado	Saint James the Greater (Rubens) [Wikidata] 1612 – 1613 Museo del Prado	The Apostle James the Less (Rubens) [Wikidata] 1612 – 1613 Los Angeles County Museum of Art	Saint John the Evangelist (Rubens) [Wikidata] c. 1611 Museo del Prado	—	Saint Matthew (Rubens) [Wikidata] c. 1611 Museo del Prado	St. Matthias (Rubens) [Wikidata] c. 1611 Museo del Prado	Saint Peter (Rubens) [Wikidata] 1610 – 1612 Museo del Prado	Saint Philip (Rubens) [Wikidata] c. 1611 Museo del Prado	Saint Simon (Rubens) [Wikidata] c. 1611 Museo del Prado	The Apostle Thomas (Rubens) [Wikidata] c. 1612 – c. 1613 Museo del Prado	—	St. Paul (Rubens) [Wikidata] c. 1611 Museo del Prado	—
Böhler series	Anthony van Dyck		The Apostle Andrew (van Dyck) [Wikidata] 1618 Museo de Arte de Ponce	The Apostle Saint Bartholomew (van Dyck) [Wikidata] 1618 – 1620 Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden	Saint James the Greater (van Dyck) [Wikidata] c. 1620 Private collection	—	Saint John the Evangelist (van Dyck) [Wikidata] 1618 – 1620 Museum of Fine Arts (Budapest)	The Apostle Judas Thaddeus (van Dyck) [Wikidata] c. 1619 – 1621 Kunsthistorisches Museum	The Apostle Matthew (van Dyck) c. 1618 – 1620 Rubenshuis	Saint Matthias (van Dyck) [Wikidata] c. 1619 Yale University Art Gallery	Apostle Peter (van Dyck) [Wikidata] c. 1600 Private collection	The Apostle Philip (van Dyck) [Wikidata] c. 1619 – c. 1621 Kunsthistorisches Museum	The Apostle Simon (van Dyck) [Wikidata] c. 1619 – c. 1621 Kunsthistorisches Museum	Apostle Thomas (van Dyck) [Wikidata] c. 1600 Private collection	Christ carrying the Cross (van Dyck) [Wikidata] unknown Musei di Strada Nuova	Saint Paul (van Dyck) [Wikidata] c. 1618 – 1620 Landesmuseum Hannover	—
Apostolado del Prado [es]	Jusepe de Ribera		Saint Andrew (Ribera, Madrid, 1641) [Wikidata] 1641 Museo del Prado	Saint Bartholomew (Ribera) [Wikidata] c. 1630 Museo del Prado	Saint James the Greater (Ribera) [Wikidata] c. 1630 – 1635 Museo del Prado	Saint James the Less (Ribera) [Wikidata] by 1652 Museo del Prado	—	Saint Judas Thaddaeus (Ribera) [Wikidata] c. 1630 – 1635 Musea del Prado	—	—	San Pedro (Ribera) [Wikidata] c. 1630 Musea del Prado	Saint Philip (Ribera) [Wikidata] c. 1630 – c. 1635 Museo del Prado	Saint Simon (Ribera) [Wikidata] c. 1630 – c. 1635 Museo del Prado	Saint Thomas (Ribera) [Wikidata] c. 1630 – c. 1635 Museo del Prado	Christ the Saviour (Ribera) [Wikidata] by 1652 Museo del Prado	Saint Paul (Ribera) [Wikidata] c. 1600 Museo del Prado	—
The Twelve Apostles [pt]	Francisco de Zurbarán		Saint Andrew (Zurbarán) [Wikidata] c. 1633 National Museum of Ancient Art	Saint Bartholomew (Zurbarán) [Wikidata] 1633 National Museum of Ancient Art	Saint James the Great (Zurbarán) [Wikidata] 1633 National Museum of Ancient Art	—	Saint John the Evangelist (Zurbarán) [Wikidata] c. 1633 National Museum of Ancient Art	Saint Judas Thaddaeus or Saint Matthew [Wikidata] c. 1633 National Museum of Ancient Art	Saint Matthew (Zurbarán) [Wikidata] c. 1633 National Museum of Ancient Art	—	Saint Peter (Zurbarán) [Wikidata] c. 1633 National Museum of Ancient Art	Saint Philip (Zurbarán) [Wikidata] c. 1633 National Museum of Ancient Art	Saint Simon (Zurbarán) [Wikidata] c. 1633 National Museum of Ancient Art	Saint Thomas (Zurbarán) [Wikidata] c. 1633 National Museum of Ancient Art	—	Saint Paul (Zurbarán) [Wikidata] c. 1630 – 1635 National Museum of Ancient Art	—
Rembrandt's apostles and evangelists	Rembrandt		—	The Apostle Bartholomew (Rembrandt) [Wikidata] 1661 Getty Center	Saint James the Greater (Rembrandt) [Wikidata] 1661 Unknown collection	—	—	—	Saint Matthew and the Angel (Rembrandt) 1661 Louvre	—	—	—	The Apostle Simon (Rembrandt) [Wikidata] 1661 Kunsthaus Zürich	—	Christ with Arms Folded [Wikidata] 1661 The Hyde Collection	Self-Portrait as the Apostle Paul 1661 Rijksmuseum	—

Notes

1. Dürer's two paintings were "perhaps the first separate, single paintings intended to be 'portraits' of the apostles." In addition, two other unknown apostles' portraits are mentioned.
2. Only eight paintings were made by El Greco and his workshop in the parish church of Almadrones, Guadalajara Province. At first it was believed that a ninth portrait, that of John, was also a part of the series, however this was later proven false.
3. The series was painted by Rubens around 1612 for a commission by Francisco de Sandoval y Rojas, 1st Duke of Lerma. The series originally included Jesus and Paul, but not Matthias. The painting of Jesus has since been lost.
4. The series receives its name from Julius Böhler, a German art dealer who acquired the series around 1914. Originally composed of 13 pieces, they were later scattered after the subsequent sales of Böhler.
5. According to art historian Otto Benesch, Rembrandt created an unfinished and loosely-conceived series of the apostles, evangelists, Mary, and Jesus during 1661, of which seven were identified. However, F. Grossman of The Burlington Magazine wrote that it was "rather doubtful whether these paintings were conceived as a complete set".

References

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• Lists of paintings
• Paintings of apostles