Attributed to FRANCESCO FRACANZANO (Monopoli, 1612 - Naples, 1656).
"Saint Peter.
Oil on canvas. Re-retouched.
It has repainting and restorations.
Measurements: 63 x 48 cm; 82 x 65 cm (frame).
Saint Peter (Bethsaida, c. 1 B.C. - Rome, 67) was, according to the New Testament, a fisherman, known for being one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. The Catholic Church identifies him through the apostolic succession as the first Pope, based among other things on Jesus' words to him: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the power of Death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven". St. Peter could be said to have been Jesus' confessor, his closest disciple, the two being united by a very special bond, as narrated in both the canonical and apocryphal Gospels.
From its subject matter and style we can situate this painting in the milieu of Francesco Fracanzano, an Italian painter who took part in the Masaniello rebellion and was the brother of Cesare Fracanzano, a pupil of Spagnoletto and teacher of Salvator Rosa, whose sister he had married. His married life was unhappy, as at his wife's instigation he committed crimes for which he was put to death in Naples in 1656.