On view
The Penitent Saint Jerome,
1606
Saint Jerome is shown in his grotto in the Holy Land, where he settled after several years living as a hermit in the Syrian desert. Allori presents him in a state of penance, gazing intently at a crucifix and holding a stone to beat his chest. The monster lurking beneath his table is Satan, who tempted the saint. The crumpled garments, inkpot, quill, and books recall Jerome’s status as a cleric and translator of the commonly used Vulgate Bible, while the skull and masks suggest the transience of human existence. Despite the painting’s message of humility, Allori proudly signed the work in Latin on the rock at the bottom right: “AD 1606 Alexander Bronzinus Allorius, a Florentine Citizen: while he painted he could not draw better.”
More About This Object
Information
1606
Europe, Florence
- Julius Meyer, Allgemeines Künstler-Lexikon: unter Mitwirkung der namhaftesten Fachgelehrten des In- und Auslandes, (Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 1872-1885)., Vol. 1: p. 505
- Newsletter (Princeton University, Art Museum) (Fall 1987)., ill.
- Elizabeth Pilliod, "Alessandro Allori's The Penitent Saint Jerome," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 47, no. 1 (1988): p. 2–26., pp. 2–4, 5, 9, fig. 1–4; p. 13, fig. 7; p. 14, fig. 9; p. 17, fig. 11
- Norman Muller, "Addendum: Technique and Condition" of "Alessandro Allori's The Penitent Saint Jerome," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 47, no. 1 (1988): p. 27–29., pp. 27–28, figs. 1–4
- "Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1987", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 47, no. 1 (1988): p. 30-54., p. 47
- "Calendar", Burlington magazine 130, no. 1018 (Jan., 1988): p. 68-72., p. 72, fig. 101
- Chronique des arts: supplément à la Gazette des beaux-arts (Mar. 1988)., p. 32, fig. 186
- Simona Lecchini Giovannoni, Alessandro Allori, (Torino: U. Allemandi, 1991)., fig. 404; p. 299, cat. no. 173
- Eckhard Leuschner, Persona, Larva, Maske: ikonologische Studien zum 16. bis frühen 18. Jahrhundert, (Frankfurt am Main; New York: P. Lang, 1997)., fig. 106; p. 423-424; cat. no. 106; p. 242-243
