Just like you can become part of the scene by moving toward the painting, you can also disconnect yourself from it by moving away. I think there is more than one emotion von Honthorst wanted to evoke. St. Peter is wearing yellow to depict cowardice. He is not only market emotionally because he lied, but the artist tells us he is also marked physically - almost like someone who has been branded. Yellow is a well-known color that is frequently used to depict cowardice.
Cowardice is a powerful emotion and it has been proven that no good usually comes from being afraid.
Also, cowardice has been known to leave people unable to move forward with their lives. This subject is very dramatic. The glare and shadows all contribute to these objectives. There are a lot of bright colors used but there are so many characters that you have to look hard and for a long time to see them all. Kings were beheading people and killing male children, war was breaking out everywhere, and greed and destruction was everywhere.