ARARPI0297334
Painting of Saint Jerome Penitent
Oil on canvas. The large canvas is almost entirely occupied by the figure of the saint, who, seated on a rock in a sparsely furnished outdoor setting, is intent on meditation. The saint is accompanied by his traditional iconographic symbols: the book, or rather, the Vulgate, according to tradition, of considerable size to underscore its importance; the lion, an animal from which the saint removed a thorn in the desert, rendering it docile and faithful, and which has become a symbol of tamed passions. The saint holds a stone in his right hand with which he beats his chest, as a sign of penance, and is partially wrapped in a red and white robe, the cardinal's robe, which, however, falls from his shoulders, a sign of his abandonment of office. The pictorial style is close to the style of Johann Carl Loth (1638-1698), a German painter active primarily in Italy, who depicted the saint several times, always with great attention to the sacred book and who had contact with Caravaggio and his painting. The figure presented here emerges powerfully from the dark, barely visible background, highlighting the man's muscles and features. This is achieved with powerful effects of light and shadow and with the predominant use of the color red, in the robe but also in the nuances of the flesh and the animal's fur, evoking the saint's passion and inner strength. The painting, already restored and relined in the past, is presented in an antique, regilded frame.
