Description
The Crucifixion of Saint Peter is a painting by Caravaggio from 1601: three men use a rope, their arms and their shoulders to raise a heavy wooden cross to which the old apostle Peter is nailed, and at his own request he will be crucified head downward. The original, oil on canvas, is 230 cm high and 175 cm wide, and it still hangs in the place it was made for: the Cerasi Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome. Our painter paints it for you by hand in oil on canvas in 8 portrait sizes, from 40 x 55 to 156 x 200 cm, or to your own measurement, and before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | The Crucifixion of Saint Peter |
| Other titles: | Crocifissione di san Pietro · Die Kreuzigung des heiligen Petrus |
| Painter: | Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) |
| Year painted: | 1601 |
| Original size: | 230 cm x 175 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, tenebrism |
| Located at: | Cerasi Chapel, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
The Crucifixion of Saint Peter – Caravaggio
What does The Crucifixion of Saint Peter show?
The scene takes place close to the ground, in half-darkness. Peter is already nailed to the cross, which lies diagonally across the canvas, and three men strain to haul it upright. The apostle is almost naked, an old man with a grey beard and a bald head, yet his body is still strong and muscular.
One pulls on the rope, a second lifts the cross with his arms, and the third crouches beneath it, pushing upward with his back and shoulders. The man in yellow breeches is reaching for a shovel, the one used to dig the hole for the post in the rocky ground.
Peter lifts his head and shoulders off the wood as if trying to turn, and his gaze slides past the executioners towards something outside the scene. The background is nearly black; only when you look harder do you make out a wall of rock.
Why is Peter crucified upside down?
According to an ancient tradition recorded in the apocryphal Acts of Peter, the apostle was condemned to death in Rome and asked to be crucified head downward. He did not consider himself worthy to die in the same way as Christ.
Caravaggio does not paint the moment of death but the labour that comes before it: weight, effort and clumsiness. The men struggle with the load as if the heaviness of the cross had caught them unprepared, and Peter’s calm, faraway gaze is the only still point in the whole composition.
The dark rock behind them matters too: the name Peter means rock, and in the Gospel of Matthew Christ declares that he will build his Church upon this rock.
Why is the painting so admired?
Because the saint in it is an ordinary man. The art historian Helen Langdon sees in him the poor fisherman from Bethsaida, and in the executioners toiling workmen with veined, reddened hands and dusty feet.
Four bodies are packed into a tight space, and the cross cuts through them on the diagonal. Light comes in from the side and falls on Peter’s body and the workmen’s backs; the darkness swallows everything else.
A few years after its installation the Dutch painter Gerrit van Honthorst made a careful drawing of it in Rome, in 1616; that drawing is now in the National Gallery in Oslo. The full history of the work is told in the Wikipedia article (in English).
Where is the original Crucifixion of Saint Peter?
The original is not in a museum but in the church it was made for, on the side wall of the Cerasi Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome. Facing it hangs The Conversion on the Way to Damascus, and on the altar between the two is Annibale Carracci’s Assumption of the Virgin.
Both side paintings were commissioned in September 1600 by Monsignor Tiberio Cerasi, treasurer to Pope Clement VIII. The contract called for two large cypress panels, yet the works you see today are painted in oil on canvas.
Cerasi died in May 1601 while Caravaggio was still at work. According to the painter’s biographer Giovanni Baglione, the first versions did not please the patron; the first version of the Peter was later lost. The two paintings were installed in the chapel on 1 May 1605.
The Crucifixion of Saint Peter or another Caravaggio?
This is a serious, dramatic canvas painting that needs a quiet wall and a little space in front of it: a home office, a library, a hallway or a staircase.
The surviving first version of the Conversion painted for the same chapel is The Conversion of Saint Paul, full of movement and light. For another scene of suffering painted with equal restraint, see The Flagellation of Christ; for a larger scene with more figures, choose The Calling of Saint Matthew.
The famous Caravaggio paintings we paint to order are all on the Caravaggio page.
How does our painter paint your Crucifixion of Saint Peter?
Each Crucifixion is painted to your order, layer by layer, in oil on canvas. The painter first lays in the dark ground and the great diagonal of the cross, then places the four bodies so that the pull of the rope and the push of arms and shoulders convince as in the original.
Next he builds up skin and muscle: Peter’s ageing flesh, the grey beard, the taut backs of the workmen and the yellow breeches. Last come the wood of the cross, the nails, the shovel and a few bright edges that separate the figures from the dark.
Your Caravaggio reproduction holds brushstrokes and layers of paint that a flat print cannot imitate. An oil painting reproduction of this kind answers differently at every hour of the day, because the light in the room travels over the relief of the paint.
Which size suits your wall?
In short: 40 x 55 or 48 x 60 cm for a narrow wall, 60 x 81 or 68 x 90 cm above a chest of drawers or a desk, 84 x 115 or 106 x 145 cm above a sofa or bed, and 124 x 157 or 156 x 200 cm for a tall wall or a stairwell.
All 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 40 x 55, 48 x 60, 60 x 81, 68 x 90, 84 x 115, 106 x 145, 124 x 157 and 156 x 200 cm. The largest, 156 x 200 cm, comes closest to the original, but it is still 19 cm narrower and 30 cm shorter.
As a painting for the living room, the Crucifixion works best from 84 x 115 cm upwards, because in smaller formats the figures crowd together. Hang it with its centre at about eye level.
Can I order another size or a frame?
Yes. The original is roughly 3 : 4 in proportion, so we can carry it over to almost any upright size without cutting off the rope, the shovel or Peter’s feet. Tell us the width and height you need, and we will come back with a price and a date.
It can travel rolled, on a stretcher bar or framed; the stretching and framing are done by our workshop in Slovenia. You choose the frame in our 3D application, which exists only for choosing frames; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
Dark wood suits the near-black background, while patinated gold picks up the warm skin and timber.
How and when does the painting arrive?
We begin as soon as your order comes in; within 15 to 45 working days your Crucifixion of Saint Peter is finished. Before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished painting, and if you would like a change, we make it. Inside Slovenia and the EU no customs duty applies, and every order falls under our returns policy.
As a gift it suits someone to whom faith or Baroque painting means a great deal. If you are unsure which size fits their wall, give them a wall art voucher.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original?
In Rome, in the Cerasi Chapel of Santa Maria del Popolo, where it has hung since 1605.
Who are the three men around the cross?
Executioners raising the cross with Peter on it; their faces are hardly visible.
Is this a printed copy?
No. You receive a hand-painted copy of the original in oil on canvas, made for your order.
How big is the original?
It is 230 cm high and 175 cm wide; our largest size, 156 x 200 cm, is smaller.
Does it suit a living room?
Yes, given a large enough wall; as the scene is serious, many hang it in a home office or hallway instead.
Which size goes above a sofa?
Above a sofa about 200 cm wide, choose 84 x 115 or 106 x 145 cm.
Can I order a size that is not listed?
Certainly. Send us the width and height, and we will reply with a price and the time it takes.
How long does it take to make?
15 to 45 working days; before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting.
- Subject: three men raise the cross to which the old apostle Peter is nailed; he is to be crucified head downward.
- Original: 1601, oil on canvas, 230 x 175 cm, Cerasi Chapel, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome.
- Ours: oil on canvas, painted by hand to order, in 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 55 to 156 x 200 cm or a size of your choice.
- Worth knowing: the original is not in a museum: it is still in the Roman chapel it was painted for.
