St. Peter

The subject

Saint Peter is portrayed here holding his hand against his chest, with his head bowed and gaze turned upward, and appears to be responding to a call or excusing himself from suspicion. This piece may thus depict two events in which Peter is the main character and are suitable for this interpretation. The first is the story of his encounter with Jesus and his calling to become an apostle:

“Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter)”. (John 1:40-41)

The second event referred to the Last Supper. Christ had just announced to his disciples that one among them would betray him and they, one by one, attempted to dismiss any suspicion, including Peter:

When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me." They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?” (Matthew 26:20-22)

Peter’s position can also be interpreted as a gesture of reverence in front of the Divine; thus another explanation may be that this work is the study of a figure to insert in a painting with more characters, such as an altarpiece.

The painting
This painting is one of a series of half-length portraits on a neutral background of which Guido Reni was a great master. Even in this case the vacuity of the environment directs all our attention to the central figure. It is believed that this painting was completed around the middle of third decade of the 17th century, when Reni had fully matured as an artist.