Fall of Simon Magus
by SOLIMENA, Francesco, Fresco
The picture shows the narrative scene on the south wall of the sacristy in San Paolo Maggiore, Naples.
The two scenes depicting falls - the Fall of Simon Magus on the south wall and the Conversion of St Paul on the north - were juxtaposed with obviously didactic intent. The most detailed account of the magician Simon, who numbered the emperor Nero among his admirers, is found in the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine.