The Denial of Saint Peter

Arranging the Picture

Caravaggio

The Denial of Saint Peter

1610

Oil on canvas, 94 × 125.4 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Met notes that his late paintings get their force from strong light against near-total darkness.

  • The Met reads the hands as three accusations: the soldier's pointing finger and the woman's two fingers, matching Peter's three denials.
  • Light catches faces, hands, the helmet and the robes; the room behind stays dark.
  • The Met calls it "a marvel of narrative concision."

Concepts

Image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York · Public Domain (Met Open Access)

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