Saint Peter's Regret

Although there is no evidence in the Gospel concerning the presence of Saint Peter in the flagellation of Jesus Christ, this iconographic episode has been very popular in the territory of the Spanish Crown since the XVI century. This is founded in the environment of the Counter Reformation when the Catholic Church defended the sacraments against Protestant attacks against them, especially the sacrament of confession. Thus, the image of Saint Peter’s Regret for having denied Christ became popular as a simile for suffering sinners who go to their confessor to redeem their sins. The scene presents the importance of art as a didactic tool for the dissemination of the Catholic Church’s ideas.