Murillo's Liberation of St Peter (Hermandad de la Caridad, Seville) is from his series depicting the six Acts of Mercy. This one represents the ministering to prisoners. St Peter wears a blue tunic with a yellow mantle and sits in the middle of the prison floor, looking at an angel who takes his arm and points to a way of escape. Architecture and sleeping guards appear in the background.
"Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating." "
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