TripImprover - Get More out of Your Museum Visits!
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Museums
    • Art Institute of Chicago
    • Baltimore Museum of Art
    • Bargello
    • British Museum
    • Cleveland Museum of Art
    • Detroit Institute of Arts
    • Frans Hals Museum
    • Galleria Borghese
    • Gallerie dell'Accademia
    • Getty Museum
    • Guggenheim
    • Hermitage Museum
    • Kunsthistorisches Museum
    • Legion of Honor Museum
    • Louvre
    • Mauritshuis
    • Metropolitan Museum of Art
    • Musee d’Orsay
    • Museum of Fine Arts
    • Museum of Modern Art
    • National Gallery in London
    • National Gallery of Art
    • Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
    • Palace of Versailles
    • Palazzo Pitti
    • Palazzo Vecchio
    • Petit Palais
    • Philadelphia Museum of Art
    • Prado
    • Pushkin Museum
    • Rijksmuseum
    • San Diego Museum of Art
    • Statens Museum for Kunst
    • Tate Britain
    • Tate Modern
    • Uffizi
    • Vatican Museums
    • Wallace Collection
  • Artists
    • Bosch
    • Botticelli
    • Bronzino
    • Bruegel the Elder
    • Cabanel
    • Canova
    • Caravaggio
    • Carpeaux
    • Cezanne
    • David
    • Degas
    • Delacroix
    • Donatello
    • El Greco
    • Fra Angelico
    • Fragonard
    • Gauguin
    • Gericault
    • Goya
    • Hals
    • Hogarth
    • Ingres
    • Leonardo da Vinci
    • Filippo Lippi
    • Lorrain
    • Makovsky
    • Manet
    • Michelangelo
    • Modigliani
    • Monet
    • Panini
    • Parmigianino
    • Perugino
    • Picasso
    • Raphael
    • Rembrandt
    • Renoir
    • Reynolds
    • Rodin
    • Rubens
    • Seurat
    • Steen
    • Tintoretto
    • Titian
    • Toulouse-Lautrec
    • Turner
    • Uccello
    • Van der Weyden
    • Van Dyck
    • Van Eyck
    • Van Gogh
    • Vasari
    • Velazquez
    • Vermeer
    • Veronese
  • Locations
    • Austria >
      • Vienna
    • Denmark >
      • Copenhagen
    • England >
      • London
    • France >
      • Paris
      • Versailles
    • Italy >
      • Florence
      • Rome
      • Venice
    • Russia >
      • Moscow
      • Saint Petersburg
    • Spain >
      • Madrid
    • The Netherlands >
      • Amsterdam
      • Haarlem
      • The Hague
    • United States >
      • Baltimore
      • Boston
      • Chicago
      • Cleveland
      • Detroit
      • Los Angeles
      • New York
      • San Diego
      • San Francisco
      • Philadelphia
      • Washington, DC
  • eBooks
  • About Us
    • Contact
    • Friends and Resources

The Penitent Saint Peter by El Greco

5/6/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Where? Room 16 of the San Diego Museum of Art
When? c. 1590-1595
Commissioned by? Unknown
What do you see? Saint Peter has his hands folded and looks up to the sky. He has just denied his relation with Jesus three times and severely regrets these denials. He had promised Jesus that he would not deny Him and now seeks forgiveness for his actions. He is outside in front of a tree, which is a quiet place where he can express his sorrows. We can recognize Saint Peter by several of his attributes. He has his iconic white bushy hair and beard, and he has the Keys of Heaven around his left arm. El Greco also painted Saint Peter with a characteristic golden robe on top of a blue garment. By using luminous colors for these garments and exaggerating certain features, like the long neck, El Greco succeeded in creating a dramatic, eye-catching image of the repentant Saint Peter.
Small scene on the left: On the left, next to the large tree, there is another scene. It shows Mary Magdelene returning from the grave of Jesus. We can recognize her by the jar of ointment in her left hand. In front of the grave stands a luminous angel. Mary Magdelene has just discovered that the grave of Jesus was empty and hurries away to tell the news that Jesus was resurrected to Saint Peter and the other disciples.  
Saint Peter’s Denial: This painting is based on the Biblical stories on Saint Peter denying Jesus three times. The stories are described in the Gospels of Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, John 13, and John 18. During the Last Supper, just before his crucifixion, Jesus told Peter that he would disown Him three times before the rooster would crow. Saint Peter immediately responded to Jesus by saying that he would never deny his relation with Him. But before dawn, Peter did actually deny Jesus three times. Immediately after the third denial, the rooster crowed for the second time, and Peter realized what he had done. He regretted his actions and started to cry as he realized that Jesus was right with his prediction. The denial of Saint Peter and his repentance have inspired various artists over time. Among them is Caravaggio who painted The Denial of Saint Peter in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Picture
The Denial of Saint Peter by Caravaggio
Backstory: The subject of Saint Peter’s repentance was a popular one in the 16th and 17th century in Catholic countries like Italy and Spain. The Catholic Church wanted to promote the idea of repentance to the people. As people, including Saint Peter, naturally makes mistakes, the Church wanted to let people know that they could admit to their sins and ask God for forgiveness. Initially, this painting in the San Diego Museum of Art only showed the main scene on the penitent Saint Peter. But by comparing this work with similar versions (see below) of this work by El Greco, they suspected that there also had to be a smaller scene on the left side of the painting. Indeed, after a thorough cleaning of the painting, the small scene with Mary Magdelene was discovered.
Who is El Greco? Doménikos Theotokópoulos, better known as El Greco, was born in 1541 on the Greek island of Crete. During his youth, he learned about the Byzantine Art that was popular in Greece. When he was 27 years old, he moved to Italy and spent several years in cities like Venice and Rome. Here, he became familiar with Renaissance Art and the works of painters like Michelangelo, Tintoretto, and Titian. In 1577, he moved to Toledo, Spain, where he would spend the rest of his life. He combined his early training in Byzantine Art with the things he learned in Italy to create his own unique style. His use of colors and the strongly elongated features of his subjects distinguish his work from any other artist. Among his works are Laocoön in the National Gallery of Art and Saint John the Baptist in the Legion of Honor Museum.
Picture
Laocoön by El Greco
Picture
Saint John the Baptist by El Greco
Fun fact: The subject of Saint Peter’s penitence was close to El Greco’s heart. He painted at least six other versions of this subject which are spread across the world. Two versions are in Toledo, Spain, in the El Greco Museum and the Museo Fundación Lerma. Other versions can be found in the Bowes Museum in England, the Museo Soumaya in Mexico City, the National Gallery of Norway, and the Phillips Collection in Washington. 
Picture
Saint Peter in Tears by El Greco (El Greco Museum)
Picture
St Peter in Penitence by El Greco (Bowes Museum)
Picture
St Peter Repentant by El Greco (National Gallery of Norway)
Picture
The Repentant Saint Peter by El Greco (Phillips Collection)

Written by Eelco Kappe

References:
  • Gopnik, Blake (2010), “Magdalene Steals Focus in El Greco’s ‘Saint Peter’,” Washington Post, January 2.
  • collection.sdmart.org/Obj1090?sid=7460&x=33804&port=2851
  • samling.nasjonalmuseet.no/en/object/NG.M.01346
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Academic Art
    Amsterdam
    Art Institute Of Chicago
    Baltimore
    Baltimore Museum Of Art
    Bargello
    Baroque
    Bosch
    Boston
    Botticelli
    British Museum
    Bronzino
    Bruegel The Elder
    Cabanel
    Canova
    Caravaggio
    Carpeaux
    Cézanne
    Chicago
    Classical Antiquity
    Cleveland
    Cleveland Museum Of Art
    Copenhagen
    Cubism
    David
    Degas
    Delacroix
    Detroit
    Detroit Institute Of Arts
    Donatello
    El Greco
    Filippo Lippi
    Florence
    Fra Angelico
    Fragonard
    Frans Hals Museum
    Galleria Borghese
    Gallerie Dell'Accademia
    Gauguin
    Gericault
    Getty Museum
    Gothic
    Goya
    Grand Style
    Guggenheim
    Haarlem
    Hals
    Hermitage
    Hogarth
    Impressionism
    Ingres
    Kunsthistorisches Museum
    Legion Of Honor
    Leonardo Da Vinci
    London
    Lorrain
    Los Angeles
    Louvre
    Madrid
    Makovsky
    Manet
    Mauritshuis
    Metropolitan Museum Of Art
    Michelangelo
    Modern Art
    Modigliani
    Monet
    Moscow
    Musee D'Orsay
    Museum Of Fine Arts
    Museum Of Modern Art
    National Gallery In London
    National Gallery Of Art
    Neoclassicism
    New York
    Ny Carlsberg Glyptothek
    Palace Of Versailles
    Palazzo Pitti
    Palazzo Vecchio
    Panini
    Paris
    Parmigianino
    Perugino
    Petit Palais
    Philadelphia
    Philadelphia Museum Of Art
    Picasso
    Post Impressionism
    Prado
    Pushkin Museum
    Raphael
    Realism
    Rembrandt
    Renaissance
    Renoir
    Reynolds
    Rijksmuseum
    Rococo
    Rodin
    Romanticism
    Rome
    Rubens
    Saint Petersburg
    San Diego
    San Diego Museum Of Art
    San Francisco
    Seurat
    Sfumato
    Sistine Chapel
    Spanish Renaissance
    Statens Museum For Kunst
    Steen
    Tate Britain
    Tate Modern
    The Hague
    Tintoretto
    Titian
    Toulouse-Lautrec
    Turner
    Uccello
    Uffizi
    Van Der Weyden
    Van Dyck
    Van Eyck
    Van Gogh
    Vasari
    Vatican Museums
    Veduta
    Velázquez
    Venice
    Vermeer
    Veronese
    Vienna
    Wallace Collection
    Washington

    RSS Feed

Home

Blog

Ebooks

Contact

© COPYRIGHT 2019. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Museums
    • Art Institute of Chicago
    • Baltimore Museum of Art
    • Bargello
    • British Museum
    • Cleveland Museum of Art
    • Detroit Institute of Arts
    • Frans Hals Museum
    • Galleria Borghese
    • Gallerie dell'Accademia
    • Getty Museum
    • Guggenheim
    • Hermitage Museum
    • Kunsthistorisches Museum
    • Legion of Honor Museum
    • Louvre
    • Mauritshuis
    • Metropolitan Museum of Art
    • Musee d’Orsay
    • Museum of Fine Arts
    • Museum of Modern Art
    • National Gallery in London
    • National Gallery of Art
    • Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
    • Palace of Versailles
    • Palazzo Pitti
    • Palazzo Vecchio
    • Petit Palais
    • Philadelphia Museum of Art
    • Prado
    • Pushkin Museum
    • Rijksmuseum
    • San Diego Museum of Art
    • Statens Museum for Kunst
    • Tate Britain
    • Tate Modern
    • Uffizi
    • Vatican Museums
    • Wallace Collection
  • Artists
    • Bosch
    • Botticelli
    • Bronzino
    • Bruegel the Elder
    • Cabanel
    • Canova
    • Caravaggio
    • Carpeaux
    • Cezanne
    • David
    • Degas
    • Delacroix
    • Donatello
    • El Greco
    • Fra Angelico
    • Fragonard
    • Gauguin
    • Gericault
    • Goya
    • Hals
    • Hogarth
    • Ingres
    • Leonardo da Vinci
    • Filippo Lippi
    • Lorrain
    • Makovsky
    • Manet
    • Michelangelo
    • Modigliani
    • Monet
    • Panini
    • Parmigianino
    • Perugino
    • Picasso
    • Raphael
    • Rembrandt
    • Renoir
    • Reynolds
    • Rodin
    • Rubens
    • Seurat
    • Steen
    • Tintoretto
    • Titian
    • Toulouse-Lautrec
    • Turner
    • Uccello
    • Van der Weyden
    • Van Dyck
    • Van Eyck
    • Van Gogh
    • Vasari
    • Velazquez
    • Vermeer
    • Veronese
  • Locations
    • Austria >
      • Vienna
    • Denmark >
      • Copenhagen
    • England >
      • London
    • France >
      • Paris
      • Versailles
    • Italy >
      • Florence
      • Rome
      • Venice
    • Russia >
      • Moscow
      • Saint Petersburg
    • Spain >
      • Madrid
    • The Netherlands >
      • Amsterdam
      • Haarlem
      • The Hague
    • United States >
      • Baltimore
      • Boston
      • Chicago
      • Cleveland
      • Detroit
      • Los Angeles
      • New York
      • San Diego
      • San Francisco
      • Philadelphia
      • Washington, DC
  • eBooks
  • About Us
    • Contact
    • Friends and Resources