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Saint Peter the Apostle
Author, school, workshop
Giovanni Ambrosio Meinardi
Style
Late Baroque
Date
1721
Material and technique
Oil painting on canvas
Size
Height 2.37 x width 1.48 m
Location
The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Wroclaw, Poland
Description
A full-figure representation of the saint fills the foreground of a composition constructed on two diagonal axes. He stands frontally, in counterpoint (his right leg slightly bent at the knee) on a grey platform with a rectangular pedestal of the same colour behind him. Resting on it is an open book, which the apostle is holding with his left hand. In his muscular right hand he holds two crossed keys. His predominantly coloured attire consists of: a long robe (saturated blue) with sleeves and a large neckline, tied at the waist, and a voluminous drapery (ochre) wrapped around his legs and thrown over his left shoulder from behind. On his feet are sandals tied with thongs. He is an ageing man with a focused expression on his face and his gaze looking at the viewer. He has grey hair, beard and moustache. In the lower right corner of the painting as a repoussoir - a fragment of a massive wooden cross and a chain by it.