Saint Jerome supported by two angels, Venetian painter of the early seventeenth century

Saint Jerome supported by two angels
Venetian painter of the early seventeenth century
Oil on canvas (86 x 67 cm. – In frame 103 x 84 cm.)

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The proposed painting offers us an intense depiction of Saint Jerome, a doctor of the Church who lived between the 4th and 5th centuries, according to the typical iconography that sees him immortalized in the desert, and in accordance with the literary tradition that illustrates the period of solitude spent in the desert.

Stripped of the traditional cardinal attributes, Jerome is represented in the guise of the hermit saint, his livid flesh marked by old age and the harshness of fasting; exhausted by the fatigue of studying, he collapses near the sacred texts that lie scattered on the ground, miraculously supported by the merciful gesture of two flourishing angels.

Before him lie the skull, symbol of the vanity of earthly life, and the books, a sign of those studies that gave rise to the drafting of the 'Vulgate', i.e. the translation of the Bible into Latin. The lion at his feet recalls episodes handed down from sources, including the Golden Legend of Jacopo da Varazze (late 13th century), according to which the beast, wounded by a thorn stuck in its paw, was cured by the saint, and for this reason he remained faithful, accompanying him throughout his retreat.

Completing his iconography are the other attributes that distinguish him: the stone with which he beat his chest as a sign of penance, the cardinal's hat that identifies him as the pope's secretary, and above the angels sounding the trumpets of judgment.

A stream of light mercilessly reveals the folds and wrinkles of his flesh, from which the intense red of the large drapery that surrounds the body of the hermit saint stands out.

The analysis of the painting allows us to place its scope in the Northern Italian school, executed by an author from the Venetian area in the early seventeenth century, although the style is still anchored to the Renaissance dictates of the previous century.

Both the pictorial manner and the color in which the bright red drapery that wraps the body of the Saint dominates, in allusion to the cardinal's dignity, harks back to Titian.

Examining its stylistic characteristics, we find great consonances with the creations of the workshop of the Venetian Jacopo Negretti, known as Palma il Giovane. His painting, and the charm that derives from it, is the fruit of the mix of different influences: that of the Venetian school, precisely of Titian and Tintoretto, and the Florentine-Roman school of Raphael and Michelangelo, which he had the opportunity to learn during the four years of his stay in Rome.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The painting is sold complete with a beautiful antique gilded wooden frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.
We take care of and organize the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.
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