to Caravaggio, on the basis of style, by Roberto Longhi. It was owned by his daughter principessa Elena Imparato Caracciolo, Naples until between 1964 and 1970, when it was sold to Ian Dik of Lausanne, Switzerland. Dik sold it to Herman Shickman of New York, from whose collection it was sold to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1997. Theme and composition According to the account in the Gospels (; ; ; ), when Christ was arrested Peter followed him into the courtyard "to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year" (following ). There he was accused at three separate confrontations of being a disciple of Jesus. Peter denied each and thus fulfilled Christ's prophecy that before the cock crowed he would deny him thrice. In October 1609, Caravaggio was attacked by assailants at the Osteria del Cerriglio tavern in Naples, led by Giovanni Rodomonte Roero, the Conte della Vezza. It seems he never fully recovered from the attack and this is evidenced by broad brushwork and an unfocused quality to the work. The style of the picture is similar to the Martyrdom of Saint Ursula (Banca di Napoli), with which it must be more or less contemporary. Caravaggio crops the figures closely and smothers large areas in shadow in order to avoid any awkward depictions of human physicality. His paintings also represented a psychological intensity which was common in his later work. A similar helmet was used by Battistello Caracciolo in his Liberation of Saint Peter (1615) in the Pio Monte della Misericordia, Naples. In popular culture Appearing ominously in a 2014 episode of The Walking Dead'', the painting is in Grady Hospital after being recovered outside of the High Museum in apocalyptic Atlanta. It is unclear whether the writers of The Walking Dead TV series were mistaken or on purpose used Caravaggio's "The Denial of Saint Peter". Since 1997, Caravaggio's painting has been a permanent part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The High in Atlanta does have a painting named "The Denial of Saint Peter", but that painting is by the French artist Nicolas Tournier and was painted in 1630 and thus 20 years later than Caravaggio's painting. Nicolas Tournier was heavily influenced by Caravaggio's painting of the same name. See also List of paintings by Caravaggio References External links 1610 paintings Paintings by Caravaggio Paintings depicting Saint