Delivery of the Keys

Artist: Pietro Perugino
Location: Sistine Chapel, Vatican City
Medium: Fresco
Date: 1481–1482

Biblical Context

Delivery of the Keys - The moment when Christ gives the keys of heaven to Saint Peter, establishing Peter's authority as the first Pope. From Matthew 16:18-19: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Notable for Perugino's characteristic breadth and distance of spatial backgrounds.