Petrus met kraaiende haan 1882

Carl Bloch etched “Peter with a Crowing Rooster,” capturing the apostle Peter in deep remorse. He sits cloaked, head in hand, next to a rooster—a symbol heavy with meaning. The rooster's crow is not just a barnyard sound; it's an auditory trigger, echoing Peter’s denial of Christ as foretold. The motif of denial and repentance resurfaces across centuries. Think of Judas's betraying kiss, forever imprinted on the collective psyche. The rooster, then, becomes a psychological marker of shame and regret. Consider how gestures of grief—the bowed head, the covering of one's face—transcend time. These appear in ancient Roman sculptures and Renaissance paintings alike, each echoing a primal human response to guilt. Bloch taps into this deep well of emotional memory. The image is not a static depiction but a dynamic expression of a universally understood emotional state, demonstrating how symbols evolve, yet retain their visceral power to move us.