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Denial of Saint Peter
Valentin de Boulogne French
Not on view
While trying, inconspicuously, to warm his hands, the apostle Peter is recognized as a disciple of Christ. The assorted company of soldiers take notice—in varying degrees. Peter’s fate has changed as though with the throw of dice, depicted mid-air! The sculpted relief is based on Roman terracotta plaques, casts of which were collected and used as artists’ props.
This picture, clearly inspired by Ribera’s Denial of Saint Peter (in the first gallery), belonged to Giovanni Battista Mellini (1591–1627), a lawyer and dean of the university of Rome and a collector of antiquities.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
