''Saint Jerome in His Study'' is a

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

by the Italian Renaissance painter

Domenico Ghirlandaio Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi (, , ; 2 June 1448 – 11 January 1494), professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio, also spelled as Ghirlandajo, was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of ...

, executed in 1480 and located in the

church of Ognissanti The chiesa di San Salvatore di Ognissanti or more simply chiesa di Ognissanti (; "Church of All Saints"), is a Franciscan church located on the piazza of the same name in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. Founded by the lay order of th ...

, Florence. The work was commissioned by the Vespucci family together with a '' Saint Augustine in His Study'' by Sandro Botticelli (1480). Both depicted two Doctors of the Church in their studies, with a number of objects which should mark their role as precursors of humanism. They decorated the area next to the choir, which was demolished in the 18th century. In that occasion the two frescoes were removed and placed in the nave. Part of the annexed frame and the inscriptions were lost.

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 A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

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 Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...

'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.

Sources

* {{Domenico Ghirlandaio 1480 paintings Paintings by Domenico Ghirlandaio Ghirla Paintings in Florence Books in art