P e t e r T e a c h e
s
Acrylic on
Vellum --
17 x 14 inches
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(c) 2009 by Craig Erickson -
Unauthorized Reproduction Prohibited
The original concept for this painting was
to highlight not an individual, but the body of Christ. The idea was to depict a group of believers in an evening
house meeting in first century Jerusalem.
Since groups of any size met largely in the houses of the wealthy,
that was where my research began. I searched for images of a house
large enough to include a courtyard. Oddly, one of the few buildings
of any size to survive the sacking of Jerusalem is one traditionally
believed to be the house of Caiaphas, high priest of the Jews and chief
architect of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
“Peter Teaches” depicts the church meeting in the same courtyard where Jesus was held and Peter denied Him hours before His crucifixion. Peter never actually preached there, but the irony of picturing him boldly proclaiming the Gospel in the same place he earlier cowered in shame is a visual metaphor of a more stunning transformation.