Crucifixion of St. Peter, Sébastien Bourdon

Episode 76. I’m David Cateforis with another art minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. A 17th-century French painting in the Spencer collection depicts the crucifixion of Saint Peter. One of the chief apostles of Christ, Saint Peter is believed to have been martyred in Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero. Tradition holds that he was crucified upside down because he did not wish to be equated with Jesus. In the Spencer’s richly colored and powerfully modeled painting, the saint’s body on the cross forms a dramatic diagonal in the lower center. Amidst several onlookers, burly men prepare to raise the cross while a pagan priest tries to draw Saint Peter’s attention to a statue of the Roman god Jupiter. The saint, however, directs his gaze heavenward toward a pair of cherubs bearing a palm branch and wreath - symbols of his Christian triumph over death. The Spencer canvas is the work of Sebastian Bourdon, one of the major French painters of the mid 17th century. It relates to a large canvas of the same subject that Bourdon painted for the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris in 1643. The much smaller Spencer canvas was likely painted a few years later, and is in many ways a more accomplished work. From the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis.

“Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you don’t want to go.” – John 21: 18-19. The Lord Jesus said this to warn Peter about the hardships he was to face. Peter was martyred and crucified by Emperor Nero in the year 67. Unlike Jesus, Peter was crucified upside down because he believed that he was not worthy to die in the same way that Jesus did. The piece of art I choose is The Crucifixion of St. Peter. Since I am a Catholic this piece especially caught my eye. I also like it because there is so much commotion and chaos taking place. It was painted in the 1600s by a man named Sebastien Bourdon. Sebastien Bourdon was born on February 2, 1616, in Montpellier, France and died on May 8, 1671. Bourdon was a Protestant; I find this very interesting and quite ironic because his painting The Crucifixion of St. Peter was frequently used in the Catholic Church’s anti-Protestant campaign. The faces and body language of the onlookers seem puzzled. The two men just to the right of the statue look to be asking, “Why is this happening?” In the bottom left corner is a woman praying, and just above her two men pulling the cross upright. In the top middle you see two angels holding palms and what could be a crown of thorns. Why are they there, and do the crown and palms signify anything? I think Bourdon is reminding us of the death of Jesus. When I first looked at this piece of art my eyes were directly drawn to St. Peter and the anguish on his face, but after making several observations, I find myself looking at the statue of Jupiter. The two men on horseback, particularly the soldier, seem to be pointing toward the statue, and right below Jupiter is a bird who seems to be fixing its gaze at the statue. Did Bourdon do all of this on purpose, and if so, why? After observing this it seems to me that he put more attention on the statue of Jupiter rather than Peter being crucified. All of the observations and questions that fill my mind while looking at this painting leave me wishing that Sebastien Bourdon was still around. This is Parker Davies with another Bulldog Podcast