The Denial of St Peter

Rembrandt · 1660
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Rembrandt painted this large canvas in 1660 and signed and dated it at the lower right; the museum lists it as by him and his workshop. Catherine the Great bought it for the Hermitage in 1781, and in 1933 it came from the Soviet Union to the Rijksmuseum.

At night a servant girl holds up a candle, shading the flame with her hand, and peers at Peter. He draws his white cloak round him and lifts an open hand: no.

From the text

Peter following at a distance into the high priest’s house (Luke 22:54)

A servant girl who “saw him seated in the firelight and looked intently at him” (Luke 22:56)

“Woman, I do not know Him” (Luke 22:57)

“The Lord turned and looked at Peter” (Luke 22:61)

The artist’s own

A candle instead of the courtyard fire

Soldiers in the armour of Rembrandt’s own century

Peter as a grey-bearded old man in a white cloak

Jesus led away in the dark background at the same moment

Details

The candle

The servant girl shields the flame with her hand; its light falls on Peter’s face.

Peter

An old man with a grey beard, his white cloak pulled round him.

The open hand

An open hand turns outward — Peter’s gesture of denial.

The soldier

A soldier in armour stops drinking from his jug and looks up.

Helmet and sword

A shining helmet and a sword lie in front of him.

In the shadows

Barely visible at the back: figures leading a prisoner away — the museum identifies him as Jesus, looking back.

Rembrandt van Rijn (and workshop), Dutch, 1606–1669. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt; SK-A-3137) · Oil on canvas · Image: "Public Domain" (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/); object metadata: CC0 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) — Rijksmuseum Linked Art record.

The verses

Luke 22:54–62Then they seized Jesus, led Him away, and took Him into the house of the high priest. And Peter followed at a distance. When those present had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. A servant girl saw him seated in the firelight and looked intently at him. “This man also was with Him,” she said. But Peter denied it. “Woman, I do not know Him,” he said. A short time later, someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” About an hour later, another man insisted, “Certainly this man was with Him, for he too is a Galilean.” “Man, I do not know what you are talking about,” Peter replied. While he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.