The fact that the commission was given to an unknown painter was not the only affront to Caravaggio. When the painting was completed he accused its author of direct imitation of his own work. Was this in fact true?

Reni had to be familiar with Caravaggio's paintings since they were the talk of the entire Roman artistic community, and similarly to other young artists, he noticed in them a revolutionary breakthrough, a new way of treating the subject and the painting matter. In undertaking the painting of the reredos in the Church of San Paolo alle Tre Fontane, he created an original version of this image, however, he also borrowed a lot from the master. Similarly to Caravaggio, he presented the scene preceding Peter’s death, and not the crucifixion itself, he employed strong chiaroscuro effects, but as opposed to Caravaggio, he removed the clothes from the apostle’s oppressors, filling the canvas with intertwining nude arms and bodies. The composition of his painting is based on a triangle and it does not contain any diagonals, which were so characteristic for Caravaggio. The scene itself shows the moment of Peter's body being raised, prior to the nails being hammered into his feet and hands. The saint seems to be reaching out for one of them as if taking the palm of martyrdom. We do not see his face, while the gestures and the placement of the body testify to his humility and consent to death. Reni, as opposed to Caravaggio, lessened the realism of the figures of the three oppressors and added a picturesque landscape with a dark blue sky in the background. In this way, he made his work less dramatic. On the other hand, through the slowing down of the gestures of the figures and bestowing them with less plebian features the painting acquired a certain elegance. Reni's sense of humor can also be seen in the red hat with a father worn by one of the oppressors.

The whole is composed in an exceptional and original way and harmonized as far as its color scheme. And it had to appeal to all those to whom Caravaggio’s works were definitely too naturalistic and dark.

Apparently, the artistic value of Reni’s canvas was noticed by Caravaggio himself, since in a way that was typical for him, he challenged Reni to a duel, but the gentle and not looking for a quarrel painter was able to avoid it. As his biographer, Cesare Malvasia states, the challenged stated, "…that he is a servant and has come to court to paint and not engage in duels (…), he has no intention of dueling anyone since he agrees and admits that he does not measure up to anyone." It seems that Caravaggio accepted these arguments since the duel did not take place. Especially, since he appeared to have found, as he supposed, the "real" culprit. This was another painter – Cavaliere d’Arpino (Cesari). They hated each other with a passion, while the suspicious Caravaggio (not without reason) believed that it was Cesari who convinced the cardinal-nepot Pietro Aldobrandini to entrust the commission to Reni. Reportedly in this way he wanted to devalue Caravaggio, showing that somebody could surpass his talents – and he saw a worthy rival in the Bolognese.

This magnificent painting was initially found in the altar of the Church of San Paolo alle Tre Fontane, to then be transferred to the palace on Quirinale Hill. Stolen by Napoleon Bonaparte, it returned to Rome in 1819, but at that time to the Vatican Pinacoteca.

If we take a peek inside the Church of San Pietro in Montorio on Janiculum Hill, we will find a faithful copy of this work in the main altar. It replaced Raphael’s Transfiguration, which was located there initially and which has also been moved to the Vatican collections.

The Crucifixion of St. Peter, Guido Reni, 1604–1605, 305 cm ´ 171 cm, oil on canvas, Pinacoteca Vaticana (Musei Vaticani)