Saint Peter. Etching.

Reference:
6812i
  • Pictures
  • Online

Selected images from this work

View 1 image

About this work

Description

A fisherman on the lake of Genezareth in Galilee, Saint Peter was, with his brother Andrew, the first of the Apostles. His name was Simon; he was renamed Peter (Kephas in Aramaic, Petros in Greek) by Jesus to indicate that he would be the cornerstone (petra) of the Church. Often depicted with one or two keys, representing his role as gatekeeper of heaven. In the Middle Ages he was invoked against fevers, bouts of madness and snake-bite. Because Peter had put to flight the dogs sent against him by Simon the Magus (in the apocryphal Acts of Peter), hot keys called "the key of St. Peter" (clef de Saint Pierre) were applied to dogs and ther owners to protect them from rabies

Physical description

1 print

Reference

Wellcome Collection 6812i

Type/Technique

Where to find it

Library members:
Requesting is temporarily unavailable while we perform maintenance work.
In the meantime, email library@wellcomecollection.org the details of your request and when you would like to consult it and we can retrieve the items for you.
  • LocationStatusAccess
    Closed stores

Permanent link