- The “Mays” of Notre-Dame
- The Descent of the Holy Spirit
- Saint Peter Healing the Sick with His Shadow
- The Conversion of saint Paul
- The Centurion Cornelius at the Feet of Saint Peter
- The Preaching of Saint Peter in Jerusalem
- The Crucifixion of Saint Peter
- The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew
- The Stoning of Saint Stephen
- The Predictions of the prophet Agabus to Saint Paul
- The Visitation
- Saint Thomas Aquinas, Fountain of Wisdom
Saint Peter
Saint Peter, along with his brother Saint Andrew, were the first disciples of Jesus. Consequently, several Mays of Notre-Dame depict moments from Peter’s life. Saint Luke recorded the accounts of the “Acts of the Apostles” in the fifth book of the New Testament.
In the Scriptures
“By the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also, a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed” (Acts of the Apostles, chapter 5, verses 12-16).
The Painting
The composition unfolds in successive planes, narrating the story. In the foreground, a young child weeps for his mother who has just died, appearing pale and lifeless, her hand resting on her child. In the middle ground, Peter, isolated at the center of the composition, walks among the sick, symbolizing the apostle designated by Christ as “the rock on which to build the Church.” His shadow falls on a man with a bandaged face who implores him at his feet, embodying the Church through which miracles occur. In the background, under Solomon’s colonnade, other sick people lie on the ground or are supported by women.
The theme of aiding the sick recalls the Church’s charity and the Hôtel-Dieu, near the cathedral, which served as a hospice for the poor and sick. The pale complexion of the deceased woman also evokes the plague epidemics that afflicted France around 1630.
Laurent de La Hyre (1606-1656)
De La Hyre expresses his love for antiquity and classical culture through the antique decor of his works. His palette is characterized by a harmony of clear and pure colors. In Paris, he emerged as a promising young painter when the guild commissioned the May of 1635. The painting was placed in the north transept of the cathedral. The enthusiasm for his work subsequently led to another commission: the illustration of the “Conversion of Saint Paul.“
