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| The Denial of Saint Peter |
Artist:
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) (Italian, Milan or Caravaggio 1571–1610 Porto Ercole)
Date:
1610
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
37 x 49 3/8 in. (94 x 125.4 cm)
Classification:
Paintings
Credit Line:
Gift of Herman and Lila Shickman, and Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1997
Caravaggio’s late works depend for their dramatic effect on brightly lit areas standing in contrast to a dark background. The picture, a marvel of narrative concision, was painted in the last months of Caravaggio’s tempestuous life and marks an extreme stage in his revolutionary style. Standing before a fireplace, Peter is accused of being a follower of Jesus. The pointing finger of the soldier and two fingers of the woman allude to the three accusations and to Peter’s three denials. In 1613 the painting belonged to Guido Reni, who received it from the engraver Luca Ciamberlano as compensation for debts.
Provenance
Luca Ciamberlano, Rome (until 1613; gave to Reni in payment of debt); Guido Reni, Rome (from 1613); Cardinal Paolo Savelli, palazzo Savelli, Ariccia (by 1624–d. 1632; inv., 1624, without attribution; inv., 1631, no. 87, without attribution, "Un S. Pietro con L'ancella cornice dorata"); his brother, Federico Savelli, palazzo Savelli, Ariccia, and palazzo di Montesavello, Rome (1632–d. 1649); his nephew, Cardinal Fabrizio Savelli, palazzo di Montesavello, Rome (1649–at least 1650; inv., February 3, 1650, as "S. Pietro negante del Caravag.o"; inv., September 1650, as "Un' Ancella con S. Pietro negante, et una altra meza figura per traverso, p.mi 5, et 4 del Caravaggio, D. 250"); said to have remained with the Savelli family, Rome and Naples (until ca. 1952); Vincenzo Imparato Caracciolo, Naples (bought on the Neapolitan art market after 1945; by 1952); his daughter, principessa Elena Imparato Caracciolo, Naples, later Milan and Lausanne (until 1970; sold to Dik); [Ian Dik, Lausanne, Switzerland, and Julius Weitzner, New York and London, 1970–76; sold to Shickman]; [Herman Shickman, New York, 1976–97; sold to MMA]
Copyright Image
https://images.metmuseum.org
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