Pietro Perugino: Christ Handing The Keys Of The Kingdom
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Pietro Perugino // Christ Handing the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter
Christ Handing the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter was painted by Pietro Perugino, 1481-1483. It is based off of Matthew 16:13-19, commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV, for the Vatican. “Perugino’s contribution to the Sistine Chapel fresco cycle was Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to Saint Peter. The papacy had, from the beginning, based its claim to infallible and total authority over the Roman Catholic Church on this biblical event, and therefore the subject was of obvious appeal to Sixtus IV.”( Gardner's Art Through the Ages, 589). The title explains exactly what’s happening; the center of attention is very clearly Christ handing St. Peter the keys to the kingdom. In the background there are two other important scenes taking place – on the left, the Rendering of the Tribute Money; and to the right, the stoning of Jesus. This setting is a Piazza, these three buildings most likely weren’t built quite like this, and it’s influenced by modern idealistic architecture during that time.…show more content… “While the series of horizontal lines divide foreground from background, the diagonal orthogonal lines create the appearance of depth as they converge at the vanishing point near the doorway of the building in the background. The result of all this is that the scene takes place on what appears to be a large grid which allows us to quite clearly ascertain the distance between figures in the foreground, middle ground, and background.”(Italianrenaissance.org. “Perugino's Christ Handing the Keys to Saint Peter.”) The colors of the fresco are very rich and vibrant. Each face expresses a different emotion. Some characters are facing their backs toward us, which allows us to feel at one with the painting; and also adds to the