The Liberation of St Peter
by HONTHORST, Gerrit van, Oil on canvas, 129 x 179 cm
A sense of Baroque drama is found in Honthorst’s Liberation of St Peter. So beloved for his nocturnes that Italians called him “Gherardo della Notte,” the Utrecht artist made Peter’s liberating angel into a light source, so illuminating the dark prison by a celestial blaze.