The calling of Sts. Peter and Andrew

The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew, painted around 1425, depicts the moment from the Gospels when Christ called the fishermen Peter and Andrew to become his disciples. The painting is held by the Instituut Collectie Nederland. This panel likely formed part of a predella or narrative cycle, a format in which Gentile da Fabriano demonstrated increasing interest in naturalistic landscape and atmospheric effects during his final years. The scene of Christ calling his first apostles was foundational for the authority of the papacy and the apostolic succession.

The composition sets the biblical narrative in a landscape setting that shows Gentile's growing interest in naturalistic observation of light and space. The figures of Christ and the fishermen are rendered with Gentile's characteristic grace and refinement, while the water and distant landscape demonstrate an atmospheric sensibility that was progressive for the early 1420s. The tempera technique is precise and luminous, with rich colors characteristic of Gentile's mature palette.