Paper

Student Artwork Guide

Saint Peter Martyr

Carlo Crivelli

Name Class Date
Carlo Crivelli, Saint Peter Martyr. Public domain. See this canvas under a moving light: the drawing, the true colour under the varnish, the bare pigment

The facts

Artist
Carlo Crivelli topimpressionists.com/en/artists/carlo-crivelli/
Artist’s dates
1435 – 1495
Movement
Early Netherlandish Northern European painters using the new oil paint for astonishing detail — every hair, every reflection.

Copyright This work is in the public domain. Carlo Crivelli died in 1495; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it ended in 1565.

Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Sept. 30, 2026

Saint Peter Martyr — Carlo Crivelli Part 1 · The artwork

In context

Saint Peter Martyr — Carlo Crivelli

When might this have been painted?

  1. 1430
  2. 1440
  3. 1450
  4. 1460
  5. 1470
  6. 1480
  7. 1490

Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 60 at death.

Shaded: the lifetime of Carlo Crivelli (1435–1495) every dated painting, decade by decade

First works: up to 1473 Main working years: 1473–1490 Late works: from 1490

Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them

This record has no exact year on file — using the artist's lifetime and the work's style, what decade would you guess?

Compare with

  • Virgin and Child, 1482 topimpressionists.com/en/art/carlo-crivelli-virgin-and-child-8XXR56-en/
  • Pietà, 1470 topimpressionists.com/en/art/carlo-crivelli-pieta-8XXR69-en/
  • St George, 1472 topimpressionists.com/en/art/carlo-crivelli-st-george-8Y35V2-en/

Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.

More works to set beside this one: topimpressionists.com/en/art/similar/carlo-crivelli-saint-peter-martyr-8DP4F6-en/

Colours

Measured from the image

    Main colour

    Black #0a0704

    Catalogued palette

    • #0A0704
    • #B0743B
    • #724722
    • #E1BF97

    These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour

    Palette
    Earthy The dominant colour family in the image.
    Main colour name
    Black
    Intensity
    Balanced How saturated and varied the colours are, from a single toned-down hue to many bright ones.
    Contrast
    Statement How much the colours differ in lightness and saturation across the picture.
    Harmony
    Unified Palette How well the colours work together, from clashing to fully unified.
    Brightness
    Deep_shadow How light or dark the picture reads overall, from deep shadow to bright highlight.
    Saturation
    Balanced Soft How pure and strong the colours are, from near-grey to fully vivid.

    Where in the world is this painting looked at?

    • under 1%
    • 1–3%
    • 3–8%
    • 8–20%
    • 20% and over
    This painting alone has too few recorded visitors to map, so the plate reads every work by Carlo Crivelli over the last twelve months — 13 countries in all. Where these figures come from

    The ten leading countries

    1. 1 China 64.9%
    2. 2 United States of America 15.8%
    3. 3 Singapore 6.1%
    4. 4 Hong Kong 2.6%
    5. 5 Germany 1.8%
    6. 6 Mexico 1.8%
    7. 7 Uruguay 1.8%
    8. 8 Austria 0.9%
    9. 9 Brazil 0.9%
    10. 10 Spain 0.9%
    11. · 3 other countries 2.5%

    Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.

    The 20 most looked-at works by Carlo Crivelli

    1. 1 Madonna of the Passion, 1460 3.1%
    2. 2 Annunciation with Saint Emidius, 1486 3.1%
    3. 3 Lamentation over the Dead Christ, 1485 2.3%
    4. 4 St Jerome and St Augustine (detail), 1490 2.3%
    5. 5 St George, 1472 2.3%
    6. 6 St Jerome and St Augustine, 1490 2.3%
    7. 7 Polittico di Ascoli Piceno 2.3%
    8. 8 St. Thomas of Aquino 2.3%
    9. 9 María Magdalena 1 2.3%
    10. 10 Apostol St. Peter 2.3%
    11. 11 Virgin and Child, 1482 1.6%
    12. 12 Virgin proclamation, 1482 1.6%
    13. 13 Saint Bartholomew, 1475 1.6%
    14. 14 Madonna and Child Enthroned, 1477 1.6%
    15. 15 Saint James of the Marches with two kneeling donor, 1477 1.6%
    16. 16 Saint Michael, 1476 1.6%
    17. 17 Apostles, 1473 1.6%
    18. 18 Saint John the Baptist, 1468 1.6%
    19. 19 Coronation of the Virgin, 1493 1.6%
    20. — Saint Peter Martyr this painting 0.0%

    Together these works take 39.0% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 192 works by this artist, of which 83 were looked at at least once. This painting has not been looked at yet in that time — it closes the list without a rank. The same counts, month by month

    Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.

    Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Sept. 30, 2026

    Saint Peter Martyr — Carlo Crivelli Part 2 · In context

    Artist and museum

    Artist

    Carlo Crivelli

    Born in Venice, Italy

    early life and training

    carlo crivelli, an italian renaissance painter, was born in venice around 1430-35. he came from a family of painters and received his artistic formation in venice and padua. crivelli's early training is believed to have been under jacobello del fiore, who was still active in 1436. he also studied at the school of vivarini in venice.

    career and style

    crivelli spent his early years in the veneto, absorbing influences from vivarini, squarcione, and mantegna. by 1458, he left the veneto and spent most of his career in the march of ancona, developing a distinctive personal style that contrasts with that of his venetian contemporary giovanni bellini. crivelli's work is characterized by a conservative late gothic decorative sensibility, marked by a linear quality, attention to detail, and the use of "trompe l'oeil" techniques.

    notable works and collaborations

    * carlo crivelli's painting "madonna and child enthroned" (106 x 55 cm, museum of fine arts, budapest, hungary) is a prime example of his style. he collaborated with his younger brother vittorio crivelli on several projects. pietro alemanno, a painter who immigrated to the march of ancona from germany/austria, was his pupil and collaborator.

    museums and collections

    * the pinacoteca di brera in milan, italy, features several of crivelli's works, including "pietà" (128 x 241 cm). * the museum san giovanni in bragora in venice, italy, has a collection of artworks from various periods and styles, including some attributed to crivelli.

    view carlo crivelli's artworks on AllPaintingsStore.com

    explore jacopo robusti's works on AllPaintingsStore.com

    read more about carlo crivelli on wikipedia

    crivelli's legacy continues to inspire art enthusiasts and scholars alike, with his work remaining a testament to the enduring power of conservative late gothic decorative sensibility.

    Where to read more

    Find this online

    QR code linking to the download page for Saint Peter Martyr

    topimpressionists.com/en/art/download/carlo-crivelli-saint-peter-martyr-8DP4F6-en/

    Cite this artwork

    MLA
    Crivelli, Carlo. Saint Peter Martyr. n.d., https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/carlo-crivelli-saint-peter-martyr-8DP4F6-en/
    APA
    Crivelli, Carlo (n.d.). Saint Peter Martyr [Painting]. https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/carlo-crivelli-saint-peter-martyr-8DP4F6-en/
    Chicago
    Carlo Crivelli. Saint Peter Martyr. n.d. https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/carlo-crivelli-saint-peter-martyr-8DP4F6-en/
    Harvard
    Crivelli, Carlo (n.d.) Saint Peter Martyr. Available at: https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/carlo-crivelli-saint-peter-martyr-8DP4F6-en/

    Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Sept. 30, 2026

    Saint Peter Martyr — Carlo Crivelli Part 3 · Artist and museum

    Look closely

    Saint Peter Martyr — Carlo Crivelli

    Look closely

    Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.

    1. What catches your eye first, and why?
    2. Which colours or shapes create the mood — and what is that mood?
    3. How many faces can you find? ____ (our catalogue counts 1 — do you agree?)
    4. Our catalogue files this work under: religious figure, medieval art, monk. Do you agree? What would you add, or take away?
    5. Look back at Virgin and Child (1482), earlier in this guide. Name two things it shares with this work, and one that is different.

    Your response

    Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.

    Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Sept. 30, 2026

    Saint Peter Martyr — Carlo Crivelli Part 4 · Look closely

    Questions & Answers

    From which country does the Early Netherlandish work "Saint Peter Martyr" come?

    The Early Netherlandish work "Saint Peter Martyr" was made by an artist born in Italy.

    Where does "Saint Peter Martyr" stand among Carlo Crivelli's recurring subjects?

    Among Carlo Crivelli's recorded themes - late gothic devotional, venetian artistic echoes, religious piety & humility, symbolic, didactic imagery, crivelli's signature style, ancona region influence, panel painting tradition - "Saint Peter Martyr" brings its own focus on religious figure, medieval art, monk, devotion, prayer, symbolism, halo, panel painting.

    Where can I find artworks similar to "Saint Peter Martyr" by Carlo Crivelli?

    The Similars page of "Saint Peter Martyr" by Carlo Crivelli presents related artworks.