The Liberation of St Peter Signed and dated 1628
Oil on canvas | 61.2 x 106.8 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 402882
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The subject comes from the Acts of the Apostles (12: 6-7): ‘the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off his hands.’ The subject was popular because it suggests the idea of the soul of man liberated from the prison of the tomb, especially when Peter is seen led up from out of a dark vault.
This example is signed and dated 1628, during Steenwyck’s English sojourn. The effect intended depends upon the space appearing at first sight to be too dark to be distinguishable. After prolonged study of the work our eyes seem to become accustomed to the dark and we start to see the perspective which the artists has carefully mapped out. The damage to the paint layer, which has been generally worn, does not help this process.
The painting appears in Pyne's illustrated 'Royal Residences' of 1819, hanging in the Presence Chamber at Kensington Palace (RCIN 922150).Provenance
Recorded in the collection of Charles I; recovered at the Restoration
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
61.2 x 106.8 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
72.8 x 118.2 x 4.5 cm (frame, external)
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