Saint Paul (Spanish: San Pablo) is a painting by Diego Velázquez that is in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.

The artist from Seville reveals his mastery of portraiture in the image of a man captured directly from nature and wrapped in a wide robe in which the folds are almost sculptural.

The dramatic lighting that brings the figure into relief against a dark background is a style inherited from Tenebrism, as are the earth-tone colors commonly used by Velázquez.

According to José López-Rey, Saint Paul's head is "sharply drawn" and the image itself is "somewhat rubbed and darkened", a style typical of Velázquez's early works.

[6] In this painting, Saint Paul is depicted wearing a large brown robe to symbolize his pilgrimage from the Holy Land to Damascus.

[1] Saint Paul is commonly drawn with a tapering beard, brown hair, and a balding forehead to signify great wisdom and learning.

[7] The Gospel book that Saint Paul is holding symbolizes that this figure is an apostle and had a great influence on the spreading of the Christian religion.

[7] This image and one of Saint Thomas (Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Orléans), also by Velázquez, are believed to have originally been housed at the Carthusian monastery of Las Cuevas in Seville.

"[1] The young Velázquez used influences from the classical literature of his day, like El Lazarillo de Tormes, as well as the beauty of his native country.

"[19] A "unifying religious undertone" can be viewed in the majority of Velázquez's early paintings and depict his lifelong devotion to the Catholic faith.