Crucifixion of St. Peter

Three straining laborers haul the cross upright as Saint Peter, nailed to it upside down at his own request, lifts his head to stare out with grim resolve. Caravaggio crowds the huge figures into the foreground, all muscle, dirty feet, and effort, with no glory and no crowd - martyrdom as sheer physical labor in the dark. It hangs in the Cerasi Chapel of Santa Maria del Popolo as the pendant to his Conversion of Saul, the two scenes of Rome's founding apostles facing each other across the altar.