Bolognese, St. Jerome. Oil on canvas. 1663. 122.8... Lot 8

Bolognese, St. Jerome. Oil on canvas. 1663. 122.8 x 91.8 cm. Dated on the opened page of the book. Framed. //rg/103,5/4 St. Jerome, one of the four Latin Fathers of the Church, lived in seclusion in the desert as an ascetic. His only companion was his lion, which, according to tradition, he pulled a thorn out of his paw, and which thereupon became tame and never left his side. The old man squats before the leaf-covered entrance to a rock grotto, to the left of him his lion camps. The pale skin and gray hair contrast sharply with the bright red color of the cloak draped around his gaunt body. He is bent over a rock that serves as a lectern and is busy translating the Bible from the original Greek text into the Latin Vulgate. The present depiction is probably by a representative of the Bolognese school and refers to the view of Hieronymus Guido Reni in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (inv. no. 9124), who looks up to heaven with reverence. Although our painter dispenses with the angel as the bearer of divine inspiration, our saint also seems to receive the words directly from heaven. Provenance: private property, Southern Germany. Taxation: differential taxed (VAT: Margin Scheme).