Delivery of the Keys: Pietro Perugino

 

For this post I will be discussing Delivery of the Keys by Pietro Perugino, a Renaissance painter.  In Delivery of the Keys Jesus is depicted gifting the keys to Heaven to Saint Peter, the first pope of the Catholic Church. The painting was commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV to decorate the Sistine Chapel in Rome, where is still stands today.  
 In this painting a linear perspective is used in order to create depth. The buildings being further behind the people, fading into the hills, with the focus, Jesus and Peter, in the front. You can also see how the artist used bright colors to contrast the people in their bright robes from the more drab colors in the background. This is also a very balanced painting with evident symmetry between the people and the buildings.

This painting relates to the reinvention of Rome by the Catholic Church because, it was the money from this reinvention that payed for the painting. With the reinvention of Rome the Church poured money into artists to beautify the churches, and restore people's excitement about church. This painting was commissioned by the pope at the time for just that. 

This painting doesn't necessarily inspire awe, and I don't think it was necessarily supposed to. To me this painting was a very significant moment between Jesus and his disciples, but at the time he didn't necessarily have a large following, so it would not have been a spectacle. I think one emotion the artist tried to convey is the love between Jesus and Peter. In this moment Jesus is entrusting Peter with the keys to Heaven, which is a very intimate moment for them. 

Personally, I am not very religious, so I likely wouldn't own a copy of this painting.



Citations: 

Co, A. H. (2023, March 21). Delivery of the keys: Pietro Perugino. Art History Co. https://arthistory.co/delivery-of-the-keys-pietro-perugino/

Pietro Perugino: Delivery of the Keys

Comments

  1. Sebas(tion)October 4, 2023 at 8:54 PM

    I'm not a fan of this particular work, but I agree that it was likely very useful in creating excitement for the church patrons. I agree that the use of perspective here is very well done, and the colors make it a vibrant piece. The way the fabric flows on the subjects in the foreground makes them feel very real and it's an interesting piece, though I wouldn't own a copy, either!

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