Recognising saints: keys

The Virgin, holding the infant Christ, sits on a marble throne with a luxurious material stretched across it – a cloth of honour, something often hung behind medieval royalty. Two saints stand with them, and particular symbols tell us who they are. On the Virgin’s right is Saint Peter, a key peep...

This stern and commanding figure is Saint Peter, the first pope and one of the founders of the Catholic Church. He comes from a polyptych (a multi-panelled altarpiece) which Crivelli painted for the high altar of the church of San Domenico, in Ascoli Piceno in the Italian Marche. His hooded eyes...

This is Saint Peter, one of Christ’s apostles, who was entrusted with the keys to the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16: 19). The panel was once part of the main tier of an altarpiece – there’s burn damage to the right of the book, probably caused by a candle placed on the altar below.Different techn...

A man kneels in prayer, his patron saint, Peter – identifiable by the key he holds – standing behind him. This panel was once the left wing of a triptych (a painting in three parts); the right wing, which shows his wife, is also in the National Gallery’s collection. These figures and the missing...

This balding, grey-bearded saint can be identified as Saint Peter by the keys which he rests on his thigh and supports with his right hand. These are the keys to the kingdom of heaven, which Christ gave Peter as a symbol of his spiritual power. The keys themselves are unusually slender and elonga...

A saint with a bald head and curly beard stands on a marble platform, his large, deep-set eyes looking straight out at us. He can be identified by the large keys which he holds: he is Saint Peter, the first pope, to whom Christ gave the keys to the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16: 18–19). This is t...

This is Saint Peter, recognisable by the colour of his robes – he is traditionally shown wearing yellow and blue – and by the large golden key he holds. It is the key to the kingdom of heaven, which was promised to him by Christ (Matthew 16: 19).The saint’s bare feet express his simplicity and hu...