Skip to Content
Today Open today 10–11 members | 11–8 public

Penitent Saint Peter

A work made of oil on canvas.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

1628/32

Artist:

Jusepe de Ribera
Spanish, 1588–1652

About this artwork

Emerging from darkness into a blaze of light falling from heaven, Saint Peter’s enraptured upward expression and gesture here suggest a moment of spiritual dialogue as he grapples with his bitter remorse for having denied that he is a follower of Christ.

Jusepe de Ribera was born near Valencia, Spain, but worked in Italy, in Rome from about 1612 until 1613, when the influence of the painter Caravaggio was at its height, then in Naples from 1616. In Naples, which was then under Spanish rule, he enjoyed the patronage of successive Spanish viceroys, producing altarpieces and paintings of classical subjects and expressive single figures like the one seen here, so lifelike in their conception that they appear to be portraits of their historical or religious subjects.

Status

On View, Gallery 211

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

Jusepe de Ribera

Title

Penitent Saint Peter

Place

Spain (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1628–1632

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

"Jusepe de Rib/espanol F"

Dimensions

126.5 × 97 cm (49 3/4 × 38 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Mrs. Goldabelle Macomb Finn Fund, with additional support from friends of the European Painting Department, Mrs. James W. Alsdorf, Mrs. Edward McCormick Blair, Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Gidwitz, Josephine and John J. Louis, Jr., the Otto L. and Hazel T. Rhoades Fund and Mrs. George B. Young; L.L. A.S. Coburn Endowment

Reference Number

1993.60

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/120172/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share