Giuseppe Maria Crespi, 'Saint Jerome in the Desert', 1710-20
About the work
Overview
Saint Jerome, a fourth-century Christian scholar and hermit, is seated in a nocturnal landscape, absorbed in the book that lies open on his lap. He is celebrated for producing what is considered to be the first Latin translation of the Bible, known as the Vulgate. He spent four years living as a hermit in the desert, accompanied only by a lion. It lies quietly at his feet in this painting, light catching the glint of its eyes and nose.
Saint Jerome was a popular subject in Italian painting and is often depicted as a penitent in the desert, half-naked and lost in study or contemplation. This composition focuses our attention on Jerome, whose pale body gleams in the dark landscape. He is surrounded by his traditional attributes: a rock, with which he beat his breast in penitence; a crucifix, the focus of his meditation on Christ’s suffering; and a skull, which acts as a reminder of human mortality.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Saint Jerome in the Desert
- Artist
- Giuseppe Maria Crespi
- Artist dates
- 1665 - 1747
- Date made
- 1710-20
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 87 × 66.6 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1963
- Inventory number
- NG6345
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
This painting is included in a list of works with incomplete provenance from 1933–1945; for more information see Whereabouts of paintings 1933–1945.
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Michael Levey, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2022The Lindisfarne GospelsLaing Art Gallery17 September 2022 - 4 December 2022
Bibliography
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1739G.P. Zanotti, Storia dell'accademia Clementina, Bologna 1739
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1769L. Crespi, Vite de' pittori Bolognesi non descritte nella Felsina pittrice, Rome 1769
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1921H. Voss, Giuseppe M. Crespi, Rome 1921
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1948F. Arcangeli and C. Gnudi, Mostra celebrativa di Giusepe M. Crespi, (exh. cat. Salone del Podestà, June - July 1948), Bologna 1948
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1965The National Gallery, The National Gallery: June 1962 - December 1964, London 1965
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1971M. Levey, The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1971
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1980M.P. Meriman, Giuseppe Maria Crespi, Milan 1980
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1986Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1986
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1990A. Emiliani et al., Giuseppe Maria Crespi 1665-1747 (exh. cat. Pinacoteca Nazionale e Accademia di Belle Arti and Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande, 7 September - 11 November 1990; Staatsgalerie, 14 December - 17 February 1991; Pushkin Museum, 20 March - 12 May 1991), Bologna 1990
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1994A. Thomas, An Illustrated Dictionary of Narrative Painting, London 1994
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
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