Guido Reni, 'Saint Jerome', about 1624-5

Saint Jerome

Guido Reni

Not on display

About the work

Overview

Saint Jerome (about 342–420 AD) was a theologian, writer and hermit, famous for producing what is considered to be the first Latin translation of the Bible, known as the Vulgate. The saint is depicted here with a number of identifying attributes: a crucifix refers to his religious contemplation during a four-year retreat in the desert, the skull to his meditation on the transience of life, the rock an instrument of self-flagellation to ward off sinful thoughts, and the crimson-red cloak an allusion to the widely-held belief that he was ordained as a cardinal.

This painting is likely the half-length Saint Jerome that Guido Reni’s biographer Carlo Cesare Malvasia recorded as being in the Palazzo Barberini in Rome. It has been shown that this picture was acquired by the Barberini family from Carlo Ganotto in 1634, and subsequently appears listed in Barberini inventories from 1644 to 1740.

In-depth

Saint Jerome was a theologian, writer and hermit, famous for producing what is considered to be the first Latin translation of the Bible, known as the Vulgate. He spent four years living in the desert, and in many earlier representations, like that by Cosimo Tura, artists gave considerable attention to the details of the rocky landscape. Reni has set the saint in darkness with only minimal indication of the barren surroundings, including a large rock in the foreground and sparse trees loosely painted in the background.

The saint’s aged, sagging skin is rendered convincingly. He is shown with a number of identifying attributes – a crucifix, a skull and a rock. He stares intensely at the crucifix, a reference to his meditation on the suffering of Christ during his period of religious contemplation in the desert. The skull is another symbol related to his spiritual retreat – a reminder of the transience of life, and of Christ’s sacrifice. He uses the rock to beat his breast in order to absolve himself of sin through physical suffering, and to ward off the impure thoughts that plagued him. His crimson-red cloak is perhaps an allusion to cardinal’s robes – it was widely believed that Jerome was ordained as a cardinal, though the office did not exist until sometime after his death.

Saint Jerome was a popular figure in seventeenth-century painting, following the Council of Trent’s declaration of the Vulgate as the official translation of the Bible. Furthermore, because of the growing significance of the sacrament of Penance after the Council of Trent, penitent saints were frequently portrayed by artists as examples for viewers to follow. Reni himself began to paint half-length compositions with increased regularity from the mid-1620s, a great number of which depicted penitent saints, such as Saint Mary Magdalene. The artist and his studio produced several similar versions of Saint Jerome, including a later work now in the Musei Capitolini, Rome.

Previously obscured by a thick layer of discoloured varnish, this work was thought to be a copy until it was cleaned in the mid-1980s. The cleaning revealed brushwork consistent with Reni’s own hand, particularly in the beard, painted in broad, quick strokes with a stiff-bristled brush, and in the loose, chalky highlights of the saint’s forehead and muscular arms.

This painting is likely the half-length Saint Jerome that Carlo Cesare Malvasia, Reni’s biographer, recorded as being in the Palazzo Barberini in Rome. It has been shown that this picture was acquired by the Barberini family from Carlo Ganotto in 1634, and subsequently appears listed in Barberini inventories from 1644 to 1740.

Key facts

Details

Full title: Saint Jerome
Artist: Guido Reni
Artist dates: 1575 - 1642
Date made: about 1624-5
Medium and support: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 111.8 × 86.4 cm
Acquisition credit: Holwell Carr Bequest, 1831
Inventory number: NG11
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection
Previous owners: Revd William Holwell Carr

Provenance

In the collection of Gavin Hamilton at Rome by 1769 (as recorded by Cunego’s engraving). In the Holwell Carr collection by 28 August 1828; Rev. W. Holwell Carr bequest, 1831.

Additional information

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.

Bibliography

1678

C.C. Malvasia, Felsina pittrice: Vite de' pittori bolognesi, Bologna 1678
1760

Bologna, Biblioteca Communale dell' Archiginnasio, MS B 126: M. Oretti, Notizie de' professori del disegno, cioè dei pittori, scultori ed architetti bolognesi e di forestieri di sua scuola, 1760 - 1780
1771

G. Hamilton, Schola italica picturae, Rome 1771
1840

National Gallery, The National Gallery of Pictures by the Great Masters, London 1840
1842

Mrs Jameson, A Handbook to the Public Galleries of Art in and Near London, London 1842
1843

F. Summerly, Felix Summerly's Hand Book for the National Gallery, London 1843
1845

G. Foggo, A Catalogue of the Pictures in the National Gallery with Critical Notes, London 1845
1847

R.N. Wornum, Descriptive and Historical Catalogue of the Pictures in the National Gallery, London 1847
1854

R.N. Wornum and C.L. Eastlake, Descriptive and Historical Catalogue of the Pictures in the National Gallery, with Biographical Notices of the Painters, London 1854
1867

A.A. Lavice, Revue des musées d'Angleterre, Paris 1867
1878

H. Blackburn, Illustrated Catalogue to the National Gallery: Foreign Schools, London 1878
1888

E.T. Cook, A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery Including, by Special Permission, Notes Collected from the Works of Mr. Ruskin, London 1888
1906

Half Holidays at the National Gallery, 5th edn, London 1906
1955

O. Kurz, Bolognese Drawings of the Xvii and Xviii Centuries at Windsor Castle, London 1955
1971

M. Levey, The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1971
1975

M.A. Lavin, Seventeenth-Century Barberini Documents and Inventories of Art, New York 1975
1984

D.S. Pepper, Guido Reni: A Complete Catalogue of His Works, Oxford 1984
1986

Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1986
1986

M. Helston, 'Some Recently Cleaned Seicento Paintings at the National Gallery', The Burlington Magazine, CXXVIII/996, 1986, pp. 209-17
1986

National Gallery, 'Pictures Cleaned and Restored in the Conservation Department of the National Gallery, January 1985 - December 1985', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, X, 1986
1988

D.S. Pepper, Guido Reni: L'opera completa, Novara 1988
1988

S.L. Caroselli, Guido Reni, 1575-1642 (exh. cat. Pinacoteca Nazionale, 5 September - 13 November 1988; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 11 December 1988 - 12 February 1989; Kimbell Art Museum, 11 March - 14 May 1989), Bologna 1988
1988

S. Ebert-Schifferer et al., Guido Reni und Europa: Ruhm und Nachruhm (exh. cat. Schirn Kunsthalle, 2 December 1988 - 26 February 1989), Frankfurt 1988
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.

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You've viewed 6 of 10 works

Guido Reni, 'Saint Jerome', about 1624-5

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Bibliography

About this record

Images

More works by Guido Reni