Denial of Saint Peter
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.While trying, inconspicuously, to warm his hands, the apostle Peter is recognized as a disciple of Christ. The assorted company of soldiers take notice—in varying degrees. Peter’s fate has changed as though with the throw of dice, depicted mid-air! The sculpted relief is based on Roman terracotta plaques, casts of which were collected and used as artists’ props.
This picture, clearly inspired by Ribera’s Denial of Saint Peter (in the first gallery), belonged to Giovanni Battista Mellini (1591–1627), a lawyer and dean of the university of Rome and a collector of antiquities.
This picture, clearly inspired by Ribera’s Denial of Saint Peter (in the first gallery), belonged to Giovanni Battista Mellini (1591–1627), a lawyer and dean of the university of Rome and a collector of antiquities.
Artwork Details
- Title: Denial of Saint Peter
- Artist: Valentin de Boulogne (French, Coulommiers-en-Brie 1591–1632 Rome)
- Date: ca. 1615–17
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 67 1/2 × 94 7/8 in. (171.5 × 241 cm)
Framed: 73 7/16 in. × 8 ft. 4 1/16 in. (186.5 × 254.1 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Fondazione di Studi di Storia dell'Arte Roberto Longhi, Florence
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings