Guido Reni painted the "Crucifixion of St. Peter" on canvas in Italy, sometime in the early 17th century. In the painting we see the Apostle Peter crucified upside down. It's a spectacle, but also a theatrical assertion of Catholic power during the Counter-Reformation. The Catholic Church had a vested interest in visually asserting its dominance and the legitimacy of papal authority. The martyrdom of Saint Peter, considered the first Pope, became a potent symbol. Reni’s heroic and idealized figures are a propaganda tool that reinforces the idea of the Church as a divine institution. To understand this work fully, we might turn to Church records or Papal correspondence to understand the nuances of Counter-Reformation ideology. Art history, in this context, is about understanding how images are deployed in service of social and institutional power.