HONTHORST, Gerrit van
(b. 1590, Utrecht, d. 1656, Utrecht)

The Liberation of St Peter

1616-18
Oil on canvas, 129 x 179 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

A sense of Baroque drama is found in Honthorst's Liberation of St Peter. So beloved for his nocturnes that Italians called him "Gherardo della Notte," the Utrecht artist made Peter's liberating angel into a light source, so illuminating the dark prison by a celestial blaze.