After the Last Supper, Christ warned that before a rooster crowed at dawn, his disciple Peter would deny knowing him three times. La Tour showed the saint as he realizes that he has done exactly as foretold. Peter sits with the rooster that symbolizes his lack of faith. The dramatic lighting was inspired by the work of Caravaggio (1571-1610), whose works La Tour did not know first hand. Instead, he encountered Caravaggio's style through pictures painted by his followers that he would have seen in France.