Jesus saves Peter from drowning

Lorenzo Veneziano was the leading painter of the Venetian school in the third quarter of the fourteenth century, known for introducing a graceful, courtly Gothic style that departed from the earlier Byzantine rigidity of Venetian art. This scene of Christ rescuing Peter from the waves reflects the particular significance of the Petrine narrative in Venice, where the Apostle's authority underpinned the city's ecclesiastical claims. The work likely formed part of a larger altarpiece cycle depicting scenes from the lives of the apostles.

Painted in tempera and gold on panel, the work showcases Lorenzo Veneziano's distinctive blend of Byzantine compositional formulas with the softer, more naturalistic modeling entering Venice from Gothic northern Italy. The treatment of the water and the expressive gestures reveal a narrative dynamism characteristic of his mature style.