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Because the Dutch were officially Calvinist Protestants and the Reformed Church prohibited the use of images in churches, few Dutch artists produced devotional scenes. In the city of Utrecht, however, a number of Roman Catholic artists continued to paint such themes. Gerrit van Honthorst often represented sacred subjects as nightscapes, or nocturnes, which were set in dark interiors dramatically lit by artificial light from a hidden source. In this example, the outstretched arm of a Roman soldier conceals the candle held by the maidservant who accuses Peter of knowing Jesus. The candlelight gives their faces an eerie, whitish hue, heightening the psychological tension of the moment when Peter, afraid that he will be arrested, denies Christ. Peter wears a yellow mantle, the garment traditionally associated with him. Honthorst executed this work at the peak of his career, shortly after returning to Utrecht from Rome in the early 1620s. (20" x 16")
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