GRECO, El
(b. 1541, Candia, d. 1614, Toledo)

St Peter in Penitence

c. 1605
Oil on canvas, 102 x 84 cm
Hospital Tavera, Toledo

St Peter wept tears of repentance after having disowned Christ. In the painting he raises his tear-filled eyes to Heaven, his hands joined in prayer. This is one of the late versions of a subject El Greco painted in at least six different autograph variants (several of which gave rise to studio copies) over the course of his career in Spain.