Series of Apostles became very popular during the Counter-reformation; they were usually half-length figures against a neutral background, holding their iconographical attributes. One of the most important series is the one that Ribera painted around 1630. It is mentioned for the first time in the Royal Collection towards the end of the eighteenth century and is made up of paintings of varying quality - some were mostly painted by the workshop and some were elaborate studies of very descriptive precision, in which Ribera created impressive archetypes of apostles. Among the most notable are Saint Peter (P001071), Saint Paul (P001074) and Saint Bartholomew (P001099).