Description
While Botticelli adopted a more expressive composition in his Saint Augustine (inspired by Andrea del Castagno's works), Ghirlandaio created a more serene and conventional figure, concentrating instead on the still life of the objects exposed on the writing desk and the shelves behind Jerome. In this, he was perhaps inspired by northern European models, such as Jan van Eyck's Saint Jerome in His Study which was in the collections of Lorenzo de' Medici.
Jerome is portrayed with his head resting on one hand, while writing with the other. This was the same posture chosen by Jan van Eyck. The open books and the cartouches, with Greek and Hebrew letters, correspond to his activity as translator of the Bible. On the writing desk is the date (MCCCCLXXX), as well as a sealed letter, glasses, two inkwells (with drops of ink near them), scissors and a candle holder. The desk is covered by an oriental carpet, a luxurious object often depicted by Ghirlandaio, and perhaps also inspired by Netherlandish painters. The objects on the shelves include a cardinal hat, two pharmacist vases, a cylindrical case, a necklace, a purse, some fruit, two transparent glass bottles and an hourglass.
The light comes from the upper right corner, producing a well defined shadow of the saint on the drapery behind him; but also from the foreground, illuminating the objects on the desk.
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Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi, professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio, was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of the so-called "third generation" of the Florentine Renaissance, along with Verrocchio, the Pollaiolo brothers and Sandro Botticelli. Ghirlandaio led a large and efficient workshop that included his brothers Davide Ghirlandaio and Benedetto Ghirlandaio, his brother-in-law Bastiano Mainardi from San Gimignano, and later his son Ridolfo Ghirlandaio. Many apprentices passed through Ghirlandaio's workshop, including the famous Michelangelo. His particular talent lay in his ability to posit depictions of contemporary life and portraits of contemporary people within the context of religious narratives, bringing him great popularity and many large commissions.
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Saint Jerome in His Study may refer to the following artworks depicting Saint Jerome:
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Saint Jerome in His Study is an oil painting on panel no larger than an oversized postcard attributed to the workshop of the early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck and is currently in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Purchased in 1925 by museum director Dr. W.R. Valentiner, the small Flemish painting at that time was attributed to Petrus Christus. The painting depicts St. Jerome, the 4th-century translator of the Bible, reading in his study, wearing a cardinal's dress and hat. He is surrounded by objects exemplyfying late medieval intellectual life and accompanied by the pet lion that is his common attribute.
