The apostle Simon
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 1606 – 1669
oil on canvas (98 × 79 cm) — 1661
Luke 6:15 - Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,
The apostle Simon. In the gospel of St Luke he is called 'Zelotes' or 'the Zealot'. Hence Simon the Zealous.
In other Greek writings he is called 'ho kananitès' or 'ho kananaios'. Writers such as Jerome thought it meant that Simon was from Kana. Others consider it a mistranslation of the Hebrew word for zealous.
He died as a martyr. In some traditions he was killed with a saw, in others he was crucified. In art he has two attributes, a saw and a cross.
Here Rembrandt depicted him holding a saw, the blade pointing down.
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