The Fall of Simon Magus
c. 1745–50
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
unframed: 183 × 108 cm · framed: 207 × 133 × 10.5 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1983.217
Tags
About this artwork
Saints Peter and Paul came to Rome to win converts to Christianity soon after Christ’s death, while Simon Magus, claiming to be the son of God, attempted to prove his divinity by flying. Due to Saint Peter’s prayers, the demons supporting Simon abandoned him and he plummeted to his death. This work is probably a studio copy after a lost oil sketch for a huge altarpiece commissioned in 1746 for Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Because of the humidity in Saint Peter’s, which quickly ruined p...