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Saint Peter

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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A saint with a bald head and curly beard stands on a marble platform, his large, deep-set eyes looking straight out at us. He can be identified by the large keys which he holds: he is Saint Peter, the first pope, to whom Christ gave the keys to the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16: 18–19). This is the side panel of an altarpiece painted in 1479 by Benvenuto di Giovanni, other panels of which are also in the National Gallery’s collection.

The shimmering silks, burnished gold background and decorative detail are typical of Sienese painting of the late fifteenth century, but Benvenuto was trying to combine the traditions of Sienese art with some of the innovations of his own time. For example, Saint Peter’s feet are at slightly different angles to the picture plane, and the toe of his left foot protrudes over the edge of the marble platform.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Saint Peter

Date

1479

Medium

Tempera on wood

Measurements

H 170 x W 50 cm

Accession number

NG909.2

Acquisition method

Bought, 1874

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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