Visual Analysis of The Denial of St. Peter by Caravaggio and Honthorst

Long Visual Analysis: The Denial of St. Peter
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Long Visual Analysis: The Denial of St. Peter
The denial of St. Peter is a drawing made in the 17th century by several Caravaggist artists. In this essay, I have used the illustrations of Denial of St. Peter made by Caravaggio and Gerrit Van Honthorst. Caravaggio painted his piece at Naples in 1610, while Honthorst painted his in Italy at around 1620 (Pericolo & Stone, 2014). These two drawings are similar in many ways. They are both deep in realism emotions, and their background is dark-colored. The light in both paintings illuminates the people in these fantastic art pieces. The oil paint used in these two art pieces is deeply layered on canvas, making the drawings extremely eye-catching. This paper will give a close visual analysis of the two historical paintings.
The two drawings depict a scene in Mark 14:66-72 in the Bible, where St. Peter, after Jesus was arrested, denies that he knows him. St. Peter was tested by the maidservant of Caiaphas, the High Priest, to acknowledge that he was one of Jesus’ followers. In an earlier scene, Jesus had warned St. Peter that he would deny him (Jesus) three times in twenty-four hours, before the cock crows. In Caravaggio's painting, three fingers point at St. Peter, one from the soldier and two fingers from the maidservant. These fingers depict the three accusations against St. Peter and the three denials of knowing Christ by him. In Honthorst’s painting, St. Peter can be seen in a yellow cloak being accused by the maidservant and the soldier of being a follower of Jesus Christ (Pericolo & Stone, 2014). St. Peter is seen to be denying the acquaintance, and when he was speaking, the cock crowed, and he remembered the words by Jesus.
Both Caravaggio and Honthorst have used Chiaroscuro to complete their pieces of art. Chiaroscuro is whereby an artist uses a deep contrast between dark-lit backgrounds and brightly-lit ones (Gash, 2015). In both the paintings, the shadows in the background have been deepened, and only the human interaction is picked in bright light. The viewer is immediately drawn to St. Peter, bathed in bright light, while the accusers are in dark hues. Interestingly, even though the accusers are dark, the maidservant is covered in bright light, especially on her forehead and across her eyes. The soldier is covered in brightness in his body only, which enhances the texture of the garments he is wearing. The soldier is seen to be wearing a metal-like vest, and smooth, red, or orange clothing is seen flowing underneath. St. Peter's figure is dark, and it does not seem to shine or emit light, although the light is being shone on him. Many other drawings depict saints reflecting or emitting light. St. Peter does not seem to emit or reflect light, and he is 'normal' in this case. Both artists thus depict St. Peter as not being saintly at this particular moment, whereby he is denying his savior. From his expression, he is guilty because he is lying. Both artists have not put much symbolism in these two paintings; I think they both wanted to give a sense of emotion through the people's expressions and faces in this Bible story.
In the two drawings, the people drawn in them are cropped such that only fractions of their bodies are seen. Both artists have placed the figures in the middle of the drawing, and the viewers are on the same level. Both artists have used the technique of placing the light and the people in the foreground of the paintings. These fantastic techniques enable the viewer to create the illusion that they are near the scene. Also, the artists have used the technique of tenebrism, whereby, although the characters' sizes are almost the same, the viewer's attention is drawn to St. Peter. In this technique, forms emerge into bright light from a darker background, which often is on a single source not shown in the painting. In the painting, the source of the light on St. Peter's face is not known, but it is dominant in the front of St. Peter. Most of the other figures in the paintings are in darkness, as some fade into an eerie and dark background, ensuring St. Peter, the accused is the central focus.
The use of Chiaroscuro by both artists in the paintings eliminates a sense of pictorial depth because of the enhanced background shadows. This style also creates space construction, a unique feature compared to the Baroque techniques (Gash, 2015). The artists have made the theatrical sense of these two art pieces typical to the Baroque techniques. However, the artists have displayed considerable skills different from Baroque Realism compared to Classicalism. In the illustration, both artists have used actual community members to represent the characters in the biblical story. This is in contrast to Classicalism, whereby figures are idealized and generalized.
Another very unique aspect in both Caravaggio's and Honthorst's approach to the idea of realism is their unique ability to create psychological effects on their characters. In both Caravaggio and Honthorst's pieces of art, St. Peter is seen to be very tired, and he is reclining. This can be translated to the exhaustion and guilt of being questioned numerous times about Jesus Christ and denying all of them. The artists have painted an innocent outward expression on Peter, but when using the Baroque Realism, it shows that the actual drama is the guilt that is going on the inside. Caravaggio painted the Denial of St. Peter at the end of the Renaissance period (Gash, 2015). He is one of the people in history who marked and started the beginning of the Baroque period.
The artists have shed light on the worried and uneasy facial expressions. The viewer is left in the reaction of pity because of the dramatic presentations and other details depicted in this painting. St. Peter is shown as having grey hair and wrinkles,...