Oil on canvas, 53.5cm by 41.5cm.
Pentecost is celebrated as the day on which the Holy Spirit descended from Heaven and appeared to the Apostles, who then were able to speak in various tongues.
Written on the back of the painting is: ‘Dans la Chapelle du Seminaire de St. Sulpice le Tableau d’autel qui est une des scènes du St. Esprit et du le main de Charles Le Brun qui s’y est peint lui.’
Le Brun was court painter to Louis XIV, Director of the French Academy of Art and Sculpture and a pre-eminent figure in artistic circles in 17th Century France.
