Giotto
The Martyrdom of St. Peter

Left panel, front of the Stefaneschi Triptych
Circa 1320
Tempera on wood
Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome

Following tradition, Giotto shows the saint crucified upside-down. Echoing images of the crucifixion of Christ, he has a woman on the right despondently hugging the bottom of the cross like Mary Magdalene, and on the left another woman holds her hand to her cheek like the Virgin Mary. These parallels with Christ's crucifixion complement the parallel between the enthroned Christ in the front center of triptych and the enthroned Peter in the back center.

Above, angels conduct Peter's soul to Heaven.

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Photographed at the site by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.