Frame: Gift of the Friends of the Institute and the John R. Van Derlip Fund This painting illustrates a New Testament passage. A young maidservant accused the apostle Peter, in the yellow cloak, of knowing Jesus Christ. Fearing for his own safety, Peter denied the acquaintance. While working in Italy, the Dutch artist Gerrit van Honthorst earned the nickname "Gerard of the Night" for his dramatically lit night scenes. Like the Italian artist Caravaggio, whom he admired, Honthorst constructed psychologically intense paintings through the use of strong contrasts of light and shadow, close-ups of large plebeian figures, and expressive hand gestures. This frame is an exceptionally fine and sophisticated example of the reverse profile cassetta style. Its dynamic profile belongs to the late 16th and 17th centuries and is a Baroque version of the earlier Classical form. The finely-carved spiralling leaf garland on the top edge projects the same energetic of motion as the painting.