Tournier's favourite subject was without a doubt The Denial of Saint Peter that he painted on at least five successive occasions. These paintings must have been popular at the time, as we have come across innumerable old copies. The episode, taken from the New Testament where it is recounted in all four gospels, tells of how Saint Peter denied knowing Christ when questioned by a woman who had been present at the moment of Christ's arrest; a dramatic subject that Tournier interprets as a reflection upon the human condition. The woman's denunciation of the apostle does not stir the indifferent soldiers who are sitting playing cards around an old tomb. As he gains an increasing mastery of technique, Tournier increases the number of figures resulting in ambitious compositions such as the Madrid Denials and those in Atlanta.
The Denial of Saint Peter by Manfredi (Brunswick) and that of Valentin (Fondazione Longhi, Florence) were obvious sources of inspiration for Tournier. Nonetheless, our painter appropriated the subject and transformed it in his highly contemplative and personal way for over ten years. The Denial of Saint Peter from a private British collection, portrays the confrontation of the three main actors in the drama, painted in the diagrammatic and geometric style of his Languedoc period, his last known variation on this theme.
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