ALLORI, Alessandro
(b. 1535, Firenze, d. 1607, Firenze)

St Peter Walking on the Water

1590s
Oil on copper, 47 x 40 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

In this work, as often occurs in the painting of Allori, the composition is slightly over-emphatic. Saint Peter, kneeling in the foreground, enveloped in his billowing garments, seems in fact to be acting on a stage. The setting, instead, is made pleasant and gracious thanks to an almost archaic use of perspective, to that sea rising high on the horizon, ruffled by light foaming waves, and to the small boat, tossed by the waters, brimming with small figures.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 21 minutes):
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Missa Brevis (Tu es Petrus)