The Tears of Saint Peter

The Hospital of Tavera in Toledo houses a painting by El Greco called The Tears of Saint Peter, which is thought to have been painted around 1605, possibly commissioned by its administrator, Pedro Salazar de Mendoza.

In the painting, Saint Peter, his eyes filled with tears of guilt after denying Christ during the Passion, looks up and begs for divine forgiveness...

...clasping his hands in a moving gesture of prayer.

The saint's silhouette is silhouetted against a rock covered with ivy, a plant traditionally associated with sorrow and penitence, evoking the figure of penitents such as Saint Jerome.

The male figure in the scene has been interpreted in various ways: some identify him with the risen Christ, but the most widely accepted hypothesis is that he represents Saint Peter after his visit to the empty tomb.

In this work, El Greco combines two key moments in the life of Saint Peter: his visit to Calvary and his repentance before Jesus' crucifixion.

The keys hanging from his left wrist clearly identify him as Saint Peter, the guardian of the gates of heaven, and symbolise the divine forgiveness he has received after repenting.

The work is signed with the Greek word "èpoiei", meaning "he has done it", a common form of signature at the time, similar to the Latin "faciebat".

With his unmistakable style, El Greco brought a new dimension to the iconography of the Counter-Reformation, offering a deeply personal and moving depiction of penance as a path to salvation.

This painting is one of a series of similar works by El Greco and one of his last. In style and subject matter, it is closely related to other paintings in Toledo Cathedral.