The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew

The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew

Artist	Caravaggio
Year	c. 1603–1606
Type	Oil on canvas
Location	Royal Collection, Hampton Court Palace, London

The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio. It takes its theme from a passage in the Gospel of Matthew describing the moment when Christ called the two brothers Simon – later known as Peter – and Andrew, to be his disciples:

As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea – for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." Immediately, they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:18–20

The painting shows a young, beardless Christ, leading the two much older-looking brothers. The more prominent of the brothers, presumably Simon, is holding a fish in his right hand. The edge of the canvas is rather damaged, but the central panel is in good condition. The presence of "incisions" into the ground of the canvas marking out St. Peter's ear and the eyes of Christ are typical of Caravaggio's technique.^[1] The painting appears to date from the height of Caravaggio's Roman period, c. 1603–06.

The work was purchased by Charles I, an avid art collector, in 1637. Sold during the Commonwealth, it was re-acquired by Charles II after the Restoration. It has since remained in royal possession, and is today owned by Queen Elizabeth II. Kept in Hampton Court Palace, it was long believed to be a virtually worthless copy of a lost original, but after six years of restoration and examination the Royal Collection declared on 10 November 2006, that this was, in fact, an authentic Caravaggio. The verdict has been corroborated by external experts, and the painting is now probably worth more than £50 million. The Queen, however, may not sell paintings from the Royal Collection as she holds the collection in trust for the nation.

After a 6-year cleaning project, it went on display as part of a small exhibition of Caravaggio paintings at the Termini Art Gallery in Rome's Termini Station from 22 November to 31 January 2006. It then moved to an exhibition (from March 2007) of Italian Baroque and Renaissance art at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace. In 2015 it was put on display in the Cumberland Gallery in Hampton Court Palace.

External links

"The Queen finds a Caravaggio in her storeroom", Nigel Reynolds, Daily Telegraph, 11 November 2006. URL last accessed 19 November 2006.
"Art clean-up uncovers Old Master", BBC News, 14 February 2004. URL last accessed 19 November 2006.
"Long-lost Caravaggio unveiled", Australia News, November 21, 2006 05:09am, last accessed on that date

Footnotes

↑ C. Whitfield, Caravaggio, exh. cat., New York, 2007, p. 25 (ISBN 1-58821-157-6)

Works by Caravaggio

1593–1594	Boy Peeling Fruit (c. 1592) Young Sick Bacchus (c. 1593) Boy with a Basket of Fruit The Fortune Teller (Buona ventura) (c. 1594) Cardsharps (I bari) (c. 1594)

1595–1599 Del Monte paintings	The Musicians (c. 1595) Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy (c. 1595) Boy Bitten by a Lizard (c. 1596) The Lute Player (c. 1596) Bacchus (c. 1596) Penitent Magdalene (c. 1597) Rest on the Flight into Egypt (c. 1597) Medusa (c. 1597) Portrait of a Courtesan (Fillide Melandroni) (c. 1597) Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto (c. 1597) Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1598) The Sacrifice of Isaac (Princeton version) (c. 1598) John the Baptist (c. 1598) Martha and Mary Magdalene (c. 1598) Portrait of Maffeo Barberini (1598) Basket of Fruit (c. 1599) Judith Beheading Holofernes (c. 1599) David and Goliath (c. 1599) Narcissus (c. 1599)

1600–1606 Most famous painter in Rome	The Calling of Saint Matthew (1599–1600) The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (1599–1600) The Conversion of Saint Paul (1600) The Crucifixion of Saint Peter (1601) The Conversion of Saint Paul on the Road to Damascus (1601) Supper at Emmaus (London) (1601) The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew Amor Victorious (1602) Saint Matthew and the Angel (1602) The Inspiration of Saint Matthew (1602) The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (c. 1602) The Taking of Christ (1602) The Entombment of Christ (c. 1603) Madonna of Loreto (Madonna dei Pellegrini, Pilgrims' Madonna) (c. 1604) The Crowning with Thorns (Prato) (1604) The Death of the Virgin (1604) Saint Francis in Meditation (c. 1603) Christ on the Mount of Olives (1605) Ecce Homo (c. 1605) Saint Jerome in Meditation (c. 1605) Saint Jerome Writing (Borghese) (c. 1605) Portrait of Pope Paul V (1605) Still Life with Fruit (1605) Madonna and Child with St. Anne (Madonna de Palafrenieri, Grooms' Madonna) (1606)

1606–1608 Naples and Malta	Mary Magdalen in Ecstasy (1606) Saint Francis in Prayer (Cremona) (1606) Supper at Emmaus (Milan) (1606) The Seven Works of Mercy (1606) The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew (1607) David with the Head of Goliath (Vienna) (1607) Madonna of the Rosary (1607) The Crowning with Thorns (Vienna) (1607) The Flagellation of Christ (c. 1607) Christ at the Column (c. 1607) Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (London) (c. 1607) Saint Jerome Writing (Valletta) (1607) Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and his Page (1607–1608) Portrait of Fra Antionio Martelli (1608) The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (1608) Sleeping Cupid (1608)

1608–1610 Sicily and Naples	The Annunciation (1608) Burial of St. Lucy (1608) The Raising of Lazarus (1609) Adoration of the Shepherds (1609) Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence (1609) Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (Madrid) (1609) Denial of Saint Peter (1610) The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula (1610) David with the Head of Goliath (1610)

Paintings attributed to Caravaggio

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