Saint Peter
c. 1310
Medium
tempera on panel
Dimensions
painted surface (top of gilding): 61.5 × 34.5 cm (24 3/16 × 13 9/16 in.) painted surface (including painted border): 64.2 × 34.5 cm (25 1/4 × 13 9/16 in.) overall: 66.2 × 36.6 × 1 cm (26 1/16 × 14 7/16 × 3/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CIS-R
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Accession Number
1937.1.2.a
Art Historical Context
**Saint Peter**, painted around 1310 by the Italian artist Grifo di Tan, captures the revered apostle in a classic devotional portrait. This tempera-on-panel work, measuring about 64 x 34 cm within its painted border, exemplifies early 14th-century Italian religious art. Saint Peter, often depicted as the first pope holding keys to the kingdom of heaven, would have served as a focal point for prayer and contemplation in a church or private chapel. Tempera, a durable medium made from pigments bound with egg yolk and applied in thin, meticulous layers over a gesso-prepared panel, allowed for th...