(Rome 1589–1624 Venice)
Saint Jerome,
oil on canvas, 96.5 x 75 cm, framed

Provenance:
Harry W. Hind, Los Altos, California;
by whom donated to the Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, California, 1977;
art market, California, 2018;
where acquired by the present owner

We are grateful to Chiara Marin for confirming the attribution of the present painting.

This composition of Saint Jerome is similar in subject and style to a series of half-length paintings depicting saints that Fetti executed between 1615 and 1620 (see E. Safarik, Fetti, Milan, 1990, pp. 181-183, pp. 186-188). Included in this series is a similar composition of Saint Jerome which is now in the Royal Collection in Hampton Court.  In both paintings the handling of paint is characterised by vigour that is rich in appearance, though in the present painting the chromatic range of colour appears less sombre. The Saint’s red chasuble and the whiteness of his sleeves illuminate the composition and Saint Jerome, depicted in three-quarter length, is contemplating the cross, whilst his right elbow rests on a bare wooden table.

The depiction of the Saint’s hair, beard and the drapery of the cloth, shows rapid and darting brushstrokes implying that the present painting was completed in the same period as the Hampton Court series. The austerity of the composition, the density of the shadows, which are embedded in the folds and on the face and the introspection of the Saint show the influence of Caravaggio moderated by a North European realism. This work is handled by a virtuoso freedom that makes it expressive and innovative.

Domenico Fetti was one of most significant artists in early seventeenth century Italy. His artistic career began in Rome where he was assisting in the workshop of Ludovico Cigoli. In 1614 the young Fetti moved to Mantua where he was employed by the Gonzaga as a court painter, at the request of Grand Duke Ferdinando. At the time, the family possessed an important collection of Venetian painting by some of the masters of the Renaissance, including Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto and Bassano. Indeed, it was the influence of Venetian chromatic palette that was to define Fetti’s own pictorial style.