Artist / Maker: Domenikos Theotokopoulos El Greco (1541-1614)
School: Spanish
Origin: Spain
Place: Toledo
Object Type: oil on canvas
Period: Felipe II
Actual Date: c.1580-1589
Century: 16th century
Size: 108 x 89.6 cm
Materials: Oil, Canvas
Museum Accession Number: B.M.642
Painted in 1580s, this is the first of several versions of the subject by El Greco. It came from the collection of the Conde de Quinto and was purchased reluctantly by John Bowes in 1869 for 200 francs (about £8). El Greco's work was little appreciated at the time. According to Saint Luke's Gospel, Saint Peter denied Jesus on the night before his death, thus fulfilling Christ's prophecy. This is a picture of hope as well as sorrow, and forgiveness and well as repentance. Get past the exaggerated sentimentality and the "poached egg eyes" as Brian Sewell described them, and this painting is a deeply moving work. Peter had denied knowing Jesus three times in the Chief Priest's courtyard, just as Jesus had foretold. Jesus had gone to his death before Peter had had time to say sorry. Peter now is inconsolable, for the loss of the friend he worshipped, and for his terrible cowardice and treachery. What Peter does not know yet, though we the viewers know, by looking in the background of the painting, is that Christ has risen. Peter will see Jesus again, and will be forgiven. This image emphasises the sacramental validity of penitence and the authority of Saint Peter's successor, the Pope. These were controversial issues during the Counter-Reformation period.
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