The Denial of St Peter
by MANFREDI, Bartolomeo, Oil on canvas, 166 x 232 cm
Manfredi created a series of theatrically lit compositions in which bawdy figures crowd around a table gambling, drinking and making music. In his Denial of St Peter the tavern scene is transformed into a religious narrative in which the soldiers’ game of dice is given more prominence than Peter’s betrayal. The religious event is thus cast within the context of secular life.