Commission and reception , c. 1560. Sheet 15 13/16 x 10 11/16 in. (40.1 x 27.2 cm) In 1528 Titian took part in a competition with
Il Pordenone and
Palma il Vecchio for the commission for a large altarpiece showing the martyrdom of
Saint Peter Martyr for the altar of that saint's confraternity in
San Zanipolo, the main
Dominican centre in Venice. Titian won the commission, in part since the Dominicans did not want to be outdone by the
Franciscans, who already had Titian's
Assumption and
Pesaro Altarpiece, both at the
basilica dei Frari.
Pietro Aretino's letter to the young sculptor
Niccolò Tribolo records Tribolo and
Benvenuto Cellini's reaction to the painting on a trip to Venice.
Vasari's
Lives of the Artists states of it "[the work] is more complete, more celebrated and more great than any other [work] Titian produced in his whole life, the one showing the best understanding and technique". The work was a major influence on later artists, such as the figure of Saint Matthew in
Caravaggio's
The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew and the red-cloaked Roman soldier on the left of Annibale Carracci's
Resurrection, which are based on Titian's figures of Peter and the fleeing brother respectively.
Destruction Early in the 17th century the Dutch merchant
Daniel Nys tried in vain to buy the work, even after offering 18,000
ducats. In 1797, after the French occupiers suppressed the monastery, the work was taken to France, where it was transferred from panel to canvas, then a common procedure there. It was returned to Venice in 1816 as part of the restitution project personally headed by
Antonio Canova. There it was placed in the Madonna del Rosario chapel rather than on its original altar. A fire completely destroyed the chapel and the painting on 16 August 1867.
Giovanni Battista Cavalcaselle wrote "no other work more victoriously demonstrated the extraordinary power of that mind - this loss is irreparable for art.". One of the last people to see the work before the fire was
Gaetano Milanesi: Along with copies of varying sizes, media and quality and a pen study (15,7x28,9 cm) in the
Wicar Museum in
Lille, two blurry black and white photographs survive of two fragments saved from the fire and taken to Switzerland for restoration, though the fragments themselves are lost. ==See also==