In his early years, in Rubens’ studio, Van Dyck was a prolific painter of sets of Apostles and Saints several dozen of which survive, but rarely with more than two or three together in the same collection. They were mostly painted in a free and bold style, heavily dependent on Rubens. In this instance, the picture is painted in a very free and Rubens-like manner, unlike the similar version of the composition in the Gemäldegalerie, Dresden, which is more precise in handling. The Saint here is given the attributes of long flowing hair, which was an innovation in the seventeenth century, as in earlier depictions he was traditionally given a dark beard.  In the painting by Jacopo Ligozzi he is given the dark beard and a statuesque pose, and bears the sword with which he was martyred. The contrast with the intimate and emotionally charged Van Dyck could not be greater.

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