On the night of Christ’s arrest, Peter was questioned about whether or not he knew Jesus. Three times he denied that he knew him, but later he bitterly regretted his denial and repented, as shown here. This is almost certainly the painting commissioned in 1639 by Cardinal Ciriaco Rocci, Papal Legate of Ferrara, for which payment is recorded in Guercino’s account book in April of that year. A preparatory sketch for the painting is in the Teylers Museum in Haarlem and two other paintings by Guercino of this subject are known. A workshop replica of this composition is in the Palazzo Venezia, Rome.