Christ’s Charge to Saint Peter or Feed my Sheep

The scene depicted in this second tapestry, taken from the Gospels of Matthew (16: 18−19) and John (21: 11−17), also unfolds on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The landscape links up with that of The Miraculous Draught of Fishes and the prow, oar and anchor chain of one of the boats, visible at the left edge, create the illusion of a continuation of the setting.

The risen Christ, displaying the stigmata of the Passion and draped in a white tunic that gives his figure luminosity and a supernatural and spiritual appearance, entrusts Peter with caring for the sheep in his flock – the believers – and hands him the keys to the kingdom of heaven, watched by the rest of the apostles. 
The serenity of the risen Christ’s face contrasts with the expressive gestures of the ten disciples, crowded together in a group, and their different reactions to the master’s choice. 

Borders: The three Fates, an allegory of the course of existence, are depicted beneath each other in the mirror-symmetrical side borders in a woven version of the frescoes designed by Giovanni Francesco Penni for the Vatican Loggia. Clotho spins the thread of human life on her spindle; Lachesis determines Destiny; and Athropos cuts the yarn.  The sequence in the lower border is an allegory of Virtue and Vice personified by the two monarchs in the centre who give out crowns or whip their subjects, assisted by the female personifications of Victory and Temperance at each end. 

Texts: Concha Herrero Carretero