Italian school; 19th century.

Italian school; 19th century. "Saint Jerome". Oil on canvas. Relined. It presents faults and restorations. It has lack of frame. Measurements: 39 x 34 cm. This work, which stands out for its very loose impastoed brushstroke, follows in its pictorial conception, although not technically, aesthetic models typical of the XVII century. The author presents a portrait in which only the face of the subject is visible, set against a neutral background of ochre tones, and of an indistinct character. The physical features of the sitter, such as his advanced age, his beard and the little that can be seen of his clothing, are in keeping with typical depictions of the figure of Saint Jerome. One of the four great Doctors of the Latin Church, Saint Jerome was born near Aquileia (Italy) in 347. Trained in Rome, he was an accomplished rhetorician and polyglot. Baptised at the age of nineteen, between 375 and 378 he withdrew to the Syrian desert to lead an anchorite's life. He returned to Rome in 382 and became a collaborator of Pope Damasus. One of the most frequent representations of this saint is his penance in the desert. His attributes are the stone he uses to beat his chest and the skull on which he meditates. Also the cardinal's cape (or a red mantle), although he was never a cardinal, and the tamed lion. The latter comes from a story in the "Golden Legend", where it is narrated that one day, when he was explaining the Bible to the monks in his convent, he saw a lion limping towards him. He removed the thorn from its paw, and from then on kept it in his service, instructing it to look after his donkey while it grazed. Some merchants stole the donkey, and the lion recovered it, returning it to the saint without hurting the animal.