The Liberation of St Peter

Here we see the liberation of St Peter, as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. At the time, King Herod was having the leaders of the Christian community arrested and executed. Peter was one of those arrested.

"And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison." (Acts 12, 6)

“And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.” (Acts 12, 7)

Gerard van Honthorst (1592–1656) treats the biblical story very freely. He leaves out both the soldiers and the sentries. Even the chains, instead of falling from Peter’s wrists, merely hang symbolically on the wall.

The scene is dominated instead by the two main figures, Peter and the angel. Expansive gestures emphasise the drama of their interaction.

They are illuminated by a stream of light, which floods into the dark room through the pushed-open door, heightening the modelling of the two bodies.

As if by magic, the light travels along the outstretched arm of the angel until it reaches Peter’s arm, raised to shield his eyes.

The door-handle casts a long shadow, dramatically breaking the light.

His figures are modelled by light from a single source, while the background, cast into amorphous shadow, heightens the drama of the scene.

Honthorst usually employed nocturnal candle- or lamplight in his paintings, and for that reason was nicknamed “Gherardo della Notte” by the Italians.

Though not so well known today, Gerard van Honthorst enjoyed the same sort of social and artistic fame as Peter Paul Rubens during his lifetime. Artistically, his most important contribution was to spread Italian Caravaggism within the Low Countries.