| Saint Jerome Writing | |
|---|---|
| Italian: San Girolamo scrivente | |
 | |
| Artist | Caravaggio |
| Year | c. 1607–1608 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 117 cm× 157 cm(46 in× 62 in) |
| Location | St John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta |
Saint Jerome Writing is a painting by the Italian master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio in 1607 or 1608, housed in the Oratory of St John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta, Malta. It can be compared with Caravaggio's earlier version of the same subject in the Borghese Gallery in Rome.[ citation needed ]
Caravaggio arrived in Malta on July 12, 1607. He had spent the previous months in Naples, where he had sought refuge with his powerful protectors the Colonna family after killing a man in a brawl in Rome the previous year. In Naples he had been an instant success, achieving ten commissions, including a number of large and very prestigious altarpieces, in less than a year, and inspiring a following of Caravaggisti among the city's artists. In short, in Naples he had found professional success, the esteem of fellow-artists, and the support of important patrons. Why then leave all this for a speck of rock inhabited by warrior-monks noted more for their fighting (Peter Robb compares them to the French Foreign Legion) than for their support of the arts? The following summarises the speculation of recent biographers such as Robb and Helen Langdon: In 1607 Caravaggio was still an outlaw, at risk of being tracked down by his enemies –the family of the man he had killed –and Naples, close to Rome, may have seemed comparatively exposed. His patrons and protectors –the Colonna, the Giustiniani, the banker Ottavio Costa –had strong links with Malta and the Knights, and it may have been felt that joining the Order would give Carvaggio immediate protection and aid in procuring a Papal pardon for his eventual return to Rome. The Grand Master of the Knights, Alof de Wignacourt, was keen to enhance the prestige of his Order and his capital, and the prospect of having one of the leading artists in Rome and Naples as de facto court painter must have been an appealing one. And so Caravaggio went to Malta.[ citation needed ]
The coat of arms in the bottom right corner of the painting is that of Ippolito Malaspina, Prior of the Order of the Knights of Saint John (the Knights of Malta) in Naples. Malaspina was a relative by marriage of Caravaggio's patron Ottavio Costa, a friend of his other patrons the Giustiniani brothers, and a cousin of Giovanni Andrea Doria, Prince of Genoa, who two years before had sheltered the artist after an earlier flight from Rome. It's possible that he may have had himself represented as the saint. Saint Jerome was thus a very important painting for the artist.[ citation needed ]
The subject seems oddly unmartial for a commission by a man whose raison d'etre was to fight the Turks – St Jerome was venerated as the translator of the Bible, which he is seen doing here. But Malaspina was not only a famous warrior, he was also a commissioner for the poor, orphans, and widows, and the painting may have been intended to emphasise both this aspect of his work and also the asceticism of the Order.[ citation needed ]
Ippolito Malaspina arrived in Malta at the end of the Great Siege of 1565. He landed with the 'Grande Soccorso' and was present in the final onslaught on the invading Ottoman forces. Therefore, this knight indeed witnessed the final stages of the Great Siege. He was also a relative, if not the brother or cousin, of Vespasianus Malaspina who died a martyr's death whilst courageously fighting the Ottoman soldiery in Fort Saint Elmo. A depiction of Vespasianus Malaspina is found within the Co-Cathedral of Saint John on the right hand side of a window just above the chapel dedicated to the Langue of Italy. Therefore, Ippolito must have reached the Island to aid his brethren; however his relative, amongst others, died a Catholic martyrs death. Previously to his Maltese residence, Ippolito Malaspina was Admiral of the Papal Fleet. The Catholic martyrs are unfortunately not much remembered by the Maltese, however a collective remembrance day referred to as Victory Day is celebrated on September 8, Feast dedicated to the Nativity of Our Lady, also known as Our Lady of Victory on the Islands.[ citation needed ]
In December 1984, the painting was stolen from the St. John's Co-Cathedral. The canvas was cut out of the frame. Two years later, following numerous telephone negotiations between the thieves and the then Director of Museums in Malta and Gozo, Fr. Marius J. Zerafa, [1] the painting was recovered. The masterpiece was damaged and needed restoration before it was put on display again. [2]
The theft and recovery were covered in The Caravaggio Heist, a 2021 episode of the PBS series Secrets of the Dead . [3] and a written full account of the theft and successful recovery had been recorded by Fr. Marius J. Zerafa in his book Caravaggio Diaries.
In 2022 the Central Bank of Malta issued two '3 euro coins' depicting a section of the painting. One coin has 'Relief', the other has colour 'Print'. The relief coin has a mintage of 4,999; and the print coin has a mintage of 5,000. [4] [5]
Michelangelo Merisida Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of his life he moved between Naples, Malta, and Sicily until his death. His paintings have been characterized by art critics as combining a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, which had a formative influence on Baroque painting.
The Caravaggisti were stylistic followers of the late 16th-century Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio. His influence on the new Baroque style that eventually emerged from Mannerism was profound. Caravaggio never established a workshop as most other painters did, and thus had no school to spread his techniques. Nor did he ever set out his underlying philosophical approach to art, the psychological realism which can only be deduced from his surviving work. But it can be seen directly or indirectly in the work of Rubens, Jusepe de Ribera, Bernini, and Rembrandt. Famous while he lived, Caravaggio himself was forgotten almost immediately after his death. Many of his paintings were re-ascribed to his followers, such as The Taking of Christ, which was attributed to the Dutch painter Gerrit van Honthorst until 1990.
Giuseppe Calì was a Maltese painter of Italian descent.
St John's Co-Cathedral is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral in Valletta, Malta, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1573 and 1578, having been commissioned by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière as the Conventual Church of Saint John.
Giovanni Baglione was an Italian Late Mannerist and Early Baroque painter and art historian. Although a prolific painter, Baglione is best remembered for his encyclopedic collection of biographies of the other artists working in Rome during his lifetime, and particularly his acrimonious relationship with the slightly younger artist Caravaggio through his art and writings.
The Madonna of the Rosary is a painting finished in 1607 by the Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. It is the only painting by Caravaggio that could be called a standard Baroque altarpiece.
The Denial of Saint Peter(La Negazione di Pietro) is a painting finished around 1610 by the Italian painter Caravaggio. It depicts Peter denying Jesus after Jesus was arrested. The painting is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
John the Baptist was the subject of at least eight paintings by the Italian Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610).
Christ on the Mount of Olives (1604-1606) was a painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, formerly in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum painting gallery, Berlin, but destroyed in 1945.
Saint Jerome in Meditation is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, now in the Museum of Montserrat, next to the Monastery of Santa Maria, Montserrat.
Saint Francis in Prayer is a painting from the Italian master Caravaggio, in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Rome.
Giovanni Battista Caracciolo (1578–1635) was an Italian artist and important Neapolitan follower of Caravaggio. He was a member of the murderous Cabal of Naples, with Belisario Corenzio and Giambattista Caracciolo, who were rumoured to have poisoned and disappeared their competition for painting contracts.
The Crowning with Thorns is a painting by the Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Made probably in 1602/1604 or possibly around 1607, it is now located in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. It was bought in Rome by the Imperial ambassador, Baron Ludwig von Lebzelter in 1809, but did not arrive in Vienna until 1816.
Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt with his Page is a painting by the Italian master Caravaggio, in the Louvre of Paris.
Marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani was an aristocratic Italian banker, art collector and intellectual of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, known today largely for the Giustiniani art collection, assembled at the Palazzo Giustiniani, near the Pantheon, in Rome, and at the family palazzo at Bassano by Vincenzo and his brother, Cardinal Benedetto, and for his patronage of the artist Caravaggio.
Mattia Preti was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John.
Leonello Spada was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in Rome and his native city of Bologna, where he became known as one of the followers of Caravaggio.
Events from the year 1608 in art.
Saint Jerome in His Study may refer to the following artworks depicting Saint Jerome:
The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist is an oil painting by the Italian artist Caravaggio. Measuring 3.7 m by 5.2 m, it depicts the execution of John the Baptist. It is located in the Oratory of St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta.
{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)Reproducedas a facsimile edion in Rome, Mascardi, 1672
Media related to Saint Jerome in his study by Caravaggio (Valletta) at Wikimedia Commons