Sir Edward Poynter

Poynter was a key figure in the revival of ideal figurative painting during the 1860s. This scene was intended as a trial piece to test the materials used in the fresco scheme for the church of St Stephen in South Dulwich. It represents two early converts to Christianity, the Jewish Paul and the Greek Apollos, and illustrates Paul’s plea for Christian unity: ‘I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase’ (1 Corinthians 3: 5-9). The artist exhibited the panel at the Dudley Gallery in 1873 under the more general title of The Gardeners – sketch in fresco.