St. Peter (Apostle).
Fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, Peter and his brother Andrew were the
first two disciples called by Jesus. Initially called Simon, he received
from Jesus the name Peter (Latin petus means rock) as a sign of
the founding role he was to play in the construction of the Church.
Until Ascension Peter's life was
closely linked to that of Jesus. He was present at all important events.
The embodyment of human strengths and weaknesses, Peter is the example
of the struggle of faith and understanding that every disciple faces. Jesus
clearly saw his disciples, at the Last Supper He predicted that Peter would
deny Him three times (Matthew 26:31, 33, 34, 35). And He did not mistake.
After Crucifixion and Pentecost
Peter became the head of the earliest Christian community in Jerusalem.
He was imprisoned by Herod, but set free by an angel. In A.D. 44 he left
for Rome, where he remained until his death, preaching, drawing together
Christ's disciples and organizing Church of Rome, of which he was the first
bishop. He was crucified the same day as St. Paul beheaded; thinking
himself unworthy to suffer the same fate as Jesus, he asked to be nailed
to the cross upside down.
In fine arts St. Peter is often
depicted with keys, cockerel, as the bird which heralded his betrayal of
Christ (John 13:38), inverted cross, fishing boat, net, fish, chain, papal
tiara. The key has a three-fold symbolic meaning: it indicates ownership
and authority; it is a metaphor for a new life, the door to which it can
open; and it represents a house. The key as an attribute of St. Peter includes
all these meanings and derives from the Christ's words to St. Peter:
"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 16:19).
Later the key became first a papal (who keep those keys) and then an ecclesiastical
symbol.
See: Jacopo Bellini. St.
John the Evangelist
(left); The Apostle Peter (right).
Hieronymus Bosch Epiphany.
Botticelli Lamentation
over the Dead Christ with the Saints Jerome, Paul and Peter.
Jan Brueghel the Elder. Landscape
on the Coast, with the Calling of St. Peter and St. Andrew.
Caravaggio The
Crucifixion of St. Peter.
Cima da Conegliano. Madonna
and Child Enthroned with St. Peter, St. Romuald, St. Benedict, and St.
Paul.
Cimabue Madonna
and Child with the Baptist and St. Peter.
Correggio Apostle
Simon.
Francesco del Cossa. St.
Peter. Side panel of the Grifoni Polyptych.
Carlo Crivelli. St.
Catherine of Alexandria, St. Peter, and Mary Magdalene.
Duccio di Buoninsegna. Maestà:
St.
Peter First Denying Jesus.
Fra Angelico. Linaiuoli
Tabernacle: The Evangelist Mark and the Apostle Peter. Linaiuoli
Tabernacle: Peter Preaching with Mark. Ordination
of St. Stephen by St. Peter.
Domenico Ghirlandaio The
Calling of St. Peter.
Giotto Madonna
and Child with St. Nicholas, St. John the Evangelist, St. Peter and St.
Benedict.
Francisco de Goya. St.
Peter Repentant.
El Greco St.
Paul and St. Peter.
Georges de La Tour. St.
Peter, The Tears of St. Peter,
Tears
of St. Peter, Peter
Denying Christ.
Filippino Lippi The
Liberation of St. Peter from Prison.
Masaccio St.
Peter Baptizing the Neophytes, The
Crucifixion of St. Peter.
Michelangelo Crucifixion
of Saint Peter.
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo Angel
Rescues St. Peter from Prison.
Pietro Perugino The
Delivery of the Keys.
Nicolas Poussin St.
Peter and St. James Cure the Lame Man.
Raphael The
Fleeing of St. Peter.
Rembrandt. Peter
Denying Christ, Peter Denying
Christ.
Jusepe de Ribera. The
Deliverance of St. Peter, The Deliverence
of St. Peter from Prison.
Titian Pope
Alexander VI Presenting Jacopo Pesaro to Saint Peter.
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