Alex Buhler

ARTH 112

Spring 2017

Denial of St. Peter

The Denial of St. Peter is attributed to Master Jacomo, and was painted in the

early or mid seventeenth century. The portrait depicts a Roman Soldier interrogating St.

Peter about his association with the recently crucified Christ. Peter is seen denying

being a disciple of Jesus, and thus the prophecy made by the Lord before his death is

fulfilled.

The painting is composed in such a way that really brings focus to the characters

faces, primarily those of the Roman Soldier and St. Peter. The Roman can be seen

holding his weapon and showing the candle in the face of Peter menacingly. In the

background there is a woman dressed in red robes with a brown cloak. It appears as

though she is shielding Peter from the Soldier by imposing her body between the two

figures.

Master Jacomo spent a lot of time focusing on the faces of the characters, and it

shows in their expressions. The Roman soldier has half of his face hidden by the angle

he is holding himself, but his expression is clearly accusatory. Peter on the other hand

has an expression of denial, and this is corroborated by the defensive position of his

hand covering his body. The face of the woman in red to me seems to be placating, as

if she is trying to defuse the tense situation.

 There is only one light source being the candle in the center which illuminates the

space around the middle of the portrait, but leaves the fringes in darkness. I see the

light as a sort of visual representation of Christ, and while St. Peter may be denying

association with Christ as a person, it may be construed that he is also denying the light

being shown in his face. Light has often symbolized divine beings, and darkness has

often symbolized evil. Peter is partially illuminated by the light, and partially cast in

shadow. This may illustrate the inner turmoil Peter is experiencing whether to deny his

association with his prophet or accept the punishment from the Roman Empire.

Jacomo is very detailed in his brushwork. An example of his individual strokes

can be seen on the fringes of the woman in reds cloak. The series of white details

make the garment seem even more realistic to the viewer. One can also see that a lot

of effort was put into making the candle seem as realistic as possible. The wick of the

candle is clearly distinguishable, as is the wax drippings trickling down the side of the

candle. Jacomo even goes so far as to differentiate the different colors of the flame,

progressing from blue at the bottom, to white in the center, to a red-orange hue at the

top.

The Denial of St. Peter is a very good example of the detail oriented artwork at

the time which also conveyed a mainly religious message. The painting tells a story,

and looking at the scene, one feels the tension in the moment of St. Peters betrayal of

Jesus Christ.