What has not been mentioned is that the «Saul - into - Paul conversion theory», published by Elaine de Kooning in Art News in 1958, was not set in Willem de Kooning's studio and did not mention a «Bell - Opticon», unlike her account
of 1962.13 Additionally, while the 1958 account's introduction dramatised Kline's breakthrough to abstraction as a «transformation
of consciousness», or a «revelation»
of Biblical proportions, invoking the example
of «Saul
of Tarsus outside the walls
of Damascus when he saw a «great light»», the description
of Kline's technical and conceptual breakthrough in this account nevertheless resembled previous accounts
of Kline's development in its gradualness, uneventfulness and thoughtfulness.14 The breakthrough that Elaine de Kooning first recounted was a product
of sustained technical experimentation and logical
thought on Kline's part, rather than accident or epiphany: «Still involved, in 1950, with elements
of representation, he began to whip out small brushes
of figures,
trains, horses, landscapes, buildings, using only black paint.