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All the Beauty in the World

 This is a painting that has "grabbed" me for several years. A woman and a Roman soldier are accusing Peter of being a friend of Christ. There are three pointed fingers -- one for each of the three accusations (or the three denials).


As he tells a lie, Peter seems to humble himself; he is not holding his head up, and he has not put his shoulders back. 

Amy Bloom wrote several stories about an aging couple of adulterous horndogs; as the years go by, the man and woman understand that they will likely need to split up. (They have behaved very badly. Once, the woman expressed her frustration by crushing her lover's fancy wristwatch with the wheels of a car.) As the date of the breakup lunch approaches, the woman reflects that this won't be pretty. "Neither one of us will leave covered in glory." That line reminds me of Caravaggio's painting. Peter is embarrassing himself. But, also, the accusers are acting in a shameful way. The woman seems drunk with rage, or at least eager to get to that point. I think Caravaggio feels compassion for both the victim and the "offensive line" in this painting.

The other thing I like is that Caravaggio is reaching the end of his life. He has just had a fight; he is badly disfigured. He is on the run; he has been accused of murder. You get "Peter" -- plus one other painting -- then the artist is dead. As Caravaggio felt the walls closing in, he formed a spiritual connection with St. Peter. And he just kept making art. What else was he going to do?


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