St. Peter

A small-sized panel, quite probably a predella, with the bust of St. Peter. The strong characterisation of his face, with a somewhat crude physiognomy in the shape of his eyes and his long nose, finds expressive correspondences in the figures depicted in the altarpieces from the church of São João de Tarouca, painted by Gaspar Vaz. The strands of the beard or hair are transcribed with highly-detailed realism through the use of delicate luminous brushstrokes. In fact, the similarities between this St. Peter and the one sitting next to Christ in the altarpiece of Christ in the House of Martha, from this museum’s collection, point to the same model and the work of the same painter.