Saint Peter: Left Main Tier Panel

This is Saint Peter, recognisable by the colour of his robes – he is traditionally shown wearing yellow and blue – and by the large golden key he holds, his attribute. It is the key to the kingdom of heaven, which was promised to him by Christ (Matthew 16: 19).The panel comes from the left-hand side of the main tier of an altarpiece showing the baptism of Christ. Saint Peter is often shown with Saint Paul, probably because they were the two main apostles, and here Paul appears in a panel on the other side of the altarpiece.The saint is shown with bare feet to express his simplicity and humility, but he stands upon a textile decorated with phoenixes and gilded peacock heads against fanned out tail feathers. This reflects his status as one of the most important apostles.Niccolò di Pietro Gerini often included elaborate details such as this in his paintings, and here used a technique called sgraffito to achieve the richness of the textile. This involved painting over a layer of gold leaf and then scratching the paint away in places, revealing the gold beneath. He has also textured the gold leaf using a fine tool called a punch and a technique called stippling. This texture would catch the candlelight in the chapel and glow, creating a dazzling effect.