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About the Artwork
During Jesus’s arrest on the night of the Last Supper, the apostle Peter denied knowing him. Although Christ forgave his betrayal, Peter was consumed by guilt. Georges de La Tour represents Peter as an old man, reflecting on his past actions in a state of perpetual repentance. The apostle’s red-rimmed eyes and the uncertain light of the lantern suggest anxious sleepless nights; muted colors and simple forms give visual expression to Peter’s somber emotions. Unlike other artists inspired by Caravaggio, La Tour worked in relative isolation in northeastern France, and his connection to his Italian counterpart remains unclear.
Inscriptions
signed upper right: Georgs delaTour Invet et Pin / 1645
Provenance
–1857: Possibly Alleyn's College of God's Gift, Dulwich, Surrey –1878: Reverend William Lucas Chafy, by inheritance to his heirs 1878–May 1951: Heirs of Reverend Chafy, Bath, Somerset November 1951: [Marshall Spink, London] sold to [M. Knoedler & Co., New York]. November 1951: [M. Knoedler & Co., New York], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1951 1951–present: The Cleveland Museum of Art
Exhibition history
Masterpieces. Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH (organizer) (November 8-December 16, 1956). In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-April 7, 1958). Georges de La Tour. Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, France (organizer) (May 10-September 25, 1972). Georges de la Tour and His World: Masterpieces in Focus. National Gallery of Art (organizer) (October 6, 1996-January 5, 1997); Kimbell Art Museum (February 1-May 10, 1997). Georges de la Tour (1593-1652). Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, France (October 1, 1997-January 26, 1998). The Light of Truth. Caravaggio, La Tour, Rembrandt, Zurbarán. Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Accademia Carrara di Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy (September 9-December 17, 2000). Georges de la Tour. National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan (organizer) (March 7-May 29, 2005). Masterpieces of European Painting from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Frick Collection, New York, NY (organizer) (November 8, 2006-January 28, 2007). Masterpieces of European Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Beachwood, OH (March 29-July 8, 2007). Georges de la Tour. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain (organizer) (February 23-June 12, 2016). Georges de la Tour: Between Shadow and Light. Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris, France (September 11, 2025-February 22, 2026) https://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/fr/georges-tour.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Georges de La Tour (French, 1593–1652)
- Date
- 1645
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 140.3 x 119.1 x 7 cm (55 1/4 x 46 7/8 x 2 3/4 in.); Unframed: 114 x 95 cm (44 7/8 x 37 3/8 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift of the Hanna Fund
- Accession no.
- 1951.454
More by Georges de La Tour in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00000270
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