Artwork
The Four Apostles: Saints John and Peter
The Four Apostles: Saints John and Peter is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer. It dates from 1526 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
John is shown holding a book, while Peter is identified by the keys he carries, traditional attributes symbolizing his role as the keeper of the keys to heaven.
The left panel of Albrecht Dürer's 1526 diptych depicts John the Apostle and Saint Peter, figures central to Christian religious art. John is shown holding a book, while Peter is identified by the keys he carries, traditional attributes symbolizing his role as the keeper of the keys to heaven. As a work of the German Renaissance, the painting serves as a visual representation of apostolic authority and scriptural foundation.
The composition focuses on these two saints to convey theological significance rather than a narrative scene, emphasizing their enduring roles within the faith.
Technique & Style
Painted in oil on lime wood panels, the work comprises two vertical supports measuring 212.8 cm in height and 76.2 cm in width. The handling is characterized by precise, smoothly blended modeling of flesh and drapery, with luminous glazes that convey both volume and luminosity. Stylistically, Dürer’s figures are individualized yet monumental, their quiet dignity underscored by restrained gestures and balanced composition.
The apostles’ faces and hands are rendered with heightened naturalism, while the drapery folds are simplified into broad, rhythmic patterns that guide the viewer’s eye across the panels.
History & Provenance
Albrecht Dürer created this oil painting on a lime panel in 1526. The work functions as the left panel of a diptych titled "The Four Apostles," which depicts Saints John and Peter alongside symbolic attributes such as a book and a key. Upon its completion, the artwork entered the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
It is currently housed at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, Germany, where it remains part of the institution's holdings of German Renaissance religious art.
The Four Apostles: Saints John and Peter is held by the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, Germany. Its inventory number is 2128. The work was first exhibited in Munich in 1905 and later featured in the 1937 Munich exhibition of German Renaissance art.
The painting measures 212.8 cm in height and 76.2 cm in width, created in 1526 using oil paint on a lime panel.
Overview
Albrecht Dürer executed the oil painting known as The Four Apostles: Saints John and Peter in 1526. The work presents two of the twelve disciples, John and Peter, positioned side by side against a dark backdrop, their heads inclined forward. Dürer, a central figure of the German Renaissance, included symbolic objects, a book for John and a key for Peter, to identify the figures.
Context
The work belongs to a larger series of apostolic portraits commissioned by a patron for devotional use. Its focus on two figures, rather than the full quartet, reflects Dürer’s interest in individual characterization within a religious framework, a concern shared by his contemporaries in northern Europe.
Artist & collection
Artist
Albrecht Dürer spent his life in Nuremberg, a busy German city where artists traded prints like currency.
![Madonna and Child [obverse], by Albrecht Dürer](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/albrecht-durer--madonna-and-child-obverse--d7b8ebf05d22ebe5-w320.webp)
![Lot and His Daughters [reverse], by Albrecht Dürer](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/albrecht-durer--lot-and-his-daughters-reverse--b4ebf9b282faa17a-w320.webp)
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