Artwork
St Peter's denial
St Peter's denial is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Leonaert Bramer. It dates from 1642 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a religious work from the Dutch Golden Age, the subject carries themes of human frailty, fear, and the tension between faith and self-preservation.
The painting depicts the Denial of Peter, a biblical episode from the New Testament in which the apostle Peter denies knowing Jesus Christ three times before the cock crows. Saint Peter is the central figure, shown in a moment of crisis as he renounces his association with Christ. As a religious work from the Dutch Golden Age, the subject carries themes of human frailty, fear, and the tension between faith and self-preservation.
The narrative was a common subject in Counter-Reformation art, serving as a moralizing reminder of the consequences of weakness and the possibility of subsequent repentance and forgiveness.
Technique & Style
Created in 1642, St Peter's denial by Leonaert Bramer is an oil painting executed on a canvas support. The work measures 126 cm in height and 141 cm in width. Classified within the religious art genre, the piece depicts the biblical narrative of Saint Peter's denial.
As a painting, it relies on the application of oil paint to the prepared canvas surface to render its formal qualities.
History & Provenance
The painting St Peter's denial was created by Leonaert Bramer in 1642. Executed in oil paint on canvas, the work depicts the biblical scene of the Denial of Peter. Its documented ownership history includes Arnoldus Andries des Tombe, who held the piece before it entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
The work is classified as religious art and measures 126 cm in height by 141 cm in width.
Leonaert Bramer's oil painting St Peter's denial, created in 1642, is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. The work was previously owned by Arnoldus Andries des Tombe before entering the museum's holdings. Specific inventory or accession numbers are not provided in the available documentation, though the piece is cataloged within the institution's religious art collection.
Overview
Leonaert Bramer’s oil painting St Peter’s Denial, executed in 1642, depicts the biblical episode in which the apostle Peter repudiates his association with Jesus. The composition is set in a dimly lit interior, where a group of figures reacts to the unfolding drama. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection and exemplifies Bramer’s engagement with religious narrative during the Dutch Golden Age.
Context
Although Bramer was a Dutch artist, St Peter’s Denial aligns with the early Italian Baroque aesthetic, borrowing its dramatic lighting and emotive composition. This cross‑regional influence illustrates the fluid exchange of artistic ideas in the seventeenth century, when Dutch painters often looked to Italian models for inspiration in rendering sacred themes.
Artist & collection
Artist
Leonaert Bramer, also Leendert or Leonard (24 December 1596 – before 10 February 1674 (date of burial)), was a Dutch painter known primarily for genre, religious, and history paintings.
