‘The Release of St Peter’ is an undoubtedly captivating response to the counter-reformation. With both realistically contrived figures and bold contrasts of light and dark bringing viewers painfully close to the action, Strozzi’s work resembles a spiritual fight; trying to win back the ‘lost souls’ of those attempting to reform. Strozzi utilises the emotionality of this narrative - one of relentless devotion and spiritual liberation, to impact the senses, awaken the emotions and protrude the viewer’s space, expressing the deeper truth and relevance of the artworks message.
Strozzi's painting acts as an intimate form of visual rhetoric. Through his hierarchies of compositional arrangement and intimate play on space the divine is made palpable. The diagonal composition structure, with the ‘earthly’ angled below the divine, further creates a painting of presence, inducing a transformative experience. Despite clear religious order the tightly cropped composition allows for a physical and psychological overlap where a sense of unity and order is created. A moment in which a shift in focus occurs, where the spectator feels complete involvement with the strength of faith. …show more content…
Time appears to be suspended, with the placement of both figures against negative space. Their arrangement in the fictive space, detached from specific context or time further suggests an eternal rather than temporal connection. The tilted placement of the figures renders them incomplete, reinforcing this idea of continuation. Ultimately, this sense of movement, and infinite space allows the spectator to see that St. Peter doesn’t appear confined or held down by the weight of his own internal
Strozzi's painting acts as an intimate form of visual rhetoric. Through his hierarchies of compositional arrangement and intimate play on space the divine is made palpable. The diagonal composition structure, with the ‘earthly’ angled below the divine, further creates a painting of presence, inducing a transformative experience. Despite clear religious order the tightly cropped composition allows for a physical and psychological overlap where a sense of unity and order is created. A moment in which a shift in focus occurs, where the spectator feels complete involvement with the strength of faith. …show more content…
Time appears to be suspended, with the placement of both figures against negative space. Their arrangement in the fictive space, detached from specific context or time further suggests an eternal rather than temporal connection. The tilted placement of the figures renders them incomplete, reinforcing this idea of continuation. Ultimately, this sense of movement, and infinite space allows the spectator to see that St. Peter doesn’t appear confined or held down by the weight of his own internal