3-044-300 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Dish with Saint Peter, about 1500-1520. Additional Info: This unusually shaped plate with a small base and wide, sloping sides displays a finely painted close-up portrait of Saint Peter. It is one of very few plates painted with a dramatic close-up bust that covers the entire front surface of the work. The plate's rim inventively forms part of the saint's yellow halo so that the two shapes complement each other. To the right and left of Saint Peter's head are the initials <em>SP</em> for San Pietro. The saint is shown as if he were earnestly speaking to the viewer as he points to the keys to the kingdom of heaven.