Liberation of St Peter from the Dungeon (Coat of arms of Count Johann Franz Preysing (1615–1687), Prince-Bishop of Chiemsee (1670–1687))

The large-scale picture The Liberation of St Peter from the Dungeon is the very first painting purchased for the Residenzgalerie. In the 1927 inventory, it is listed as no. 3 after the two sculptures of St Rupert and St Virgil (inv. nos. 1 and 2).
The story of the arrest and release of St Peter is told in the Acts of the Apostles 12, 1–12. The artist illuminates the crucial scene against a dark background. A tall angel dressed in blue and white with wings outspread takes Peter, still in chains, by the hand and points the way out of the dungeon. The gesture is emphasised by a bright light, which also reveals the guard slumped against the wall. Bottom right is the coat of arms of Count Johann Franz Preysing (1615 Munich – 1687 Salzburg), Prince-Archbishop of Chiemsee (1670–1687) – a second cousin of Guidobald Thun.

Habersatter Thomas: Johann Heinrich Schönfeld, after, The Liberation of St Peter from the Dungeon, in: Ducke Astrid, Habersatter Thomas (Hrsg./Edi.): von | from 0 auf | to 100. Residenzgalerie Salzburg 1923-2023. Salzburg 2023, S./p. 330-331