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The Biblical subject relates how the devout centurion Cornelius followed the order of an angel who appeared before him and summoned the Apostle Peter in Caesarea to hear him speak the word of God. While Peter was addressing the pagans who gathered in the home of the centurion, the Holy Spirit descended on them. Seeing this, Peter performed the rite of baptism on all those assembled .
Very likely this picture is a preparatory work dated 1658 for an altarpiece which Corneille made for the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris .