Peter and John heal a lame man in the temple

This work reflects his mature style, characterized by dynamic figure placement and a clear narrative focus typical of mid-seventeenth-century religious art.

Created in 1650, Bertholet Flémal's oil painting 'Peter and John Heal a Lame Man in the Temple' illustrates the biblical account from Acts 3:1–10. The composition centers on the miraculous moment at the Beautiful Gate of the Jerusalem Temple, where the apostles Peter and John encounter a man lame from birth. Flémal arranges the figures to emphasize the divine intervention: the lame man sits on the ground looking upward, while Peter stands close, physically touching the man's shoulder to initiate the cure, and John raises his hands in a gesture of prayer and authority. The artist employs a Baroque sensibility, utilizing dramatic lighting to highlight the central group against a background of classical architecture that evokes the grandeur of the Temple. Flémal, a prominent Flemish painter who spent significant time in Rome, integrates Italianate architectural elements with a Flemish attention to detail and texture. This work reflects his mature style, characterized by dynamic figure placement and a clear narrative focus typical of mid-seventeenth-century religious art. The painting serves as a testament to Flémal's ability to synthesize the dramatic intensity of the Counter-Reformation with the structural clarity of classical tradition.