Saint Peter as Pope
- Artist: Lippo Vanni (Artists)(active)
- Date: c. 1365
- Medium: tempera on panel, integral frame with a gabled top
- Museum: The Courtauld Gallery
- Collection record: The Courtauld Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the “Saint Peter as Pope” by Lippo Vanni. Created around 1365, this tempera on panel work carries the same fine detail that marked the artist’s early manuscript commissions. Notice the subtle modeling of Peter’s flesh, the expressive wrinkles, and the intricate folds of his robes—all rendered with the same precision you’d expect from a hand accustomed to illuminating miniatures.
The keys he holds are inscribed with the Latin words “Authority” and “Discernment”, echoing the symbolic keys to heaven that Christ gave him. Above Peter’s head, a small disc shows him holding a book, a clear nod to his role as one of the four Gospel writers. The three figures beside him would have appeared on other panels of a larger altarpiece, making this panel a fragment of a more extensive devotional setting.
The work is framed with an integral gabled top, a typical design choice for panel paintings of the period, which gives the piece a finished, almost architectural feel. Lippo Vanni’s ability to translate the intricate elegance of manuscript illumination onto a larger, painted surface is evident here, making the “Saint Peter as Pope” a compelling example of mid‑14th‑century Italian panel painting.
See it in person
Saint Peter as Pope hangs in The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
