And Peter Wept

This image of a rooster crowing should be connected to Peter’s denial of Christ when one reads the key Biblical text below:

'…and Peter wept.' (Luke 22:62)

Thus, a rooster becomes the rooster that crowed when Peter denied knowing Jesus for the third time on the night before he was crucified.

The sulphuric, agitated background adds to the drama of Peter’s immediate and bitter regret. The exaggerated red cockscomb acts like an alarm bell going off and appeals to the viewer's sense of alarm.