The Repentant Peter 1600

El Greco painted ‘The Repentant Peter’ in oil on canvas in Spain, sometime between 1600 and 1614. As a Greek artist working in the Spanish Counter-Reformation, El Greco uniquely combined Byzantine and Venetian artistic traditions. The image of Saint Peter—a key figure in the Catholic Church’s claim to spiritual authority—is charged with meaning. We see the distraught apostle after he has denied Christ three times. Clutching the keys to the kingdom of heaven, Peter looks to the heavens, begging forgiveness. Here, Peter becomes a figure for the Church itself, which had weathered serious challenges during the Reformation and was attempting to reclaim its moral authority through emotional displays of piety. To understand the artwork more fully, we might want to examine sermons and religious literature from the period. By situating the painting within its historical moment, we can better understand how art both reflects and shapes cultural values.