After Francesco Vanni, Italian 1563-1610- St Jerome; oil on panel,...

After Francesco Vanni,
Italian 1563-1610-

St Jerome;

oil on panel, 24.4 x 18.8 cm., (unframed).

Provenance:
Private Collection, UK.

Note:
A 17th-century copy in reverse format, after Vanni’s larger oil on canvas, which was offered at Pandolfini, Florence, 29 March 1992, lot 450, now in private hands. The composition was widely disseminated through a print by Agostino Carracci (1557-1602) which the present work echoes in format, and surely derives from.

St Jerome is shown wrapped in his red cardinal cloak, contemplating before a wooden crucifix. His elbow rests on the bible, which he translated from Greek to Latin, beside the human skull, which functions as a reminder of the transience of life compared to the eternity of God.