Italian school; 18th century.
"The Martyrdom of St. Peter of Verona".
Oil on canvas. Re-tinted.
It presents restorations.
Measurements: 65 x 48,5 cm; 80,6 x 65 cm (frame).
The softness of those that can be appreciated in the treatment of the sky and the delicacy of the little loves indicate that we are in front of an image of the 18th century. However, one of the main figures, who is preparing to attack the saint, is reminiscent of Baroque models. His foreshortened pose and pictorial treatment are reminiscent of the drama and expressiveness so dear to the Baroque school. The scene, which is conceived on the basis of a simple and clear composition, represents the martyrdom of Saint Peter of Verona.
Verona (Italy, 1205-1252), a Dominican martyr born into a family that followed the Cathar heresy. At the age of sixteen, fascinated by the words of Saint Dominic of Guzman, he received the Dominican habit from his own hands. When he finished his ecclesiastical training, Peter was appointed preacher of the Gospel of Jesus to the Italian Cathars, a task he carried out with piety and austerity, achieving great fame throughout Italy. One day, the holy martyrs Agnes, Cecilia and Catherine appeared in his cell and he was reprimanded for having violated the enclosure by welcoming women into his cell. The saint did not defend himself and acknowledged that he was a sinner and was punished. In the solitude of his punishment, he intensified his study and prayer, and one day he unburdened himself in front of a crucifix, asking "What evil have I done, Lord, to see me as I am? Christ then consoles and comforts him with these words, "And I, Peter, what evil have I done?". At last the truth triumphs and he is appointed Inquisitor General by Pope Gregory IX, allowing him to continue his evangelising work in Rome, Florence and Milan. He was finally killed while crossing the Barlassina forest on his way back to Milan. His murderer struck him with an axe in the back of the head and stabbed him in the chest, weapons that often appear in pictorial representations of the saint. The crime was plotted by the heretic bishop Daniele da Giussano, who had paid the murderer 40 Milanese pounds, making his death an echo of that of Christ.