Acts
12 tells the story of St. Peter, thrown in prison by Herod and delivered from
prison by an angel. This fresco by
Raphael shows three scenes from this story.
In the center, the angel comes to Peter, chained between two guards, and
frees him. On the right, the angel leads
Peter out to safety. On the left, a
soldier who seems to be in charge is shouting at his bewildered men. He has discovered that Peter is no longer
there, but no one knows how he escaped.
Particularly
striking in this painting of Raphael’s use of light. The light shining on the armor of the
soldiers in the left and right panels is moonlight. The angel, however, has a light of his own,
warmer and brighter than the moonlight. This
supernatural light helps to illustrate the significance of Peter’s miraculous
deliverance.
“And
Peter coming to himself, said: Now I know in very deed, that the Lord hath sent
his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the
expectation of the people of the Jews” (Acts 12:11).
