''St. Jerome in the Desert'' or ''St. Jerome Reading in the Desert'' is a 1480 oil on panel painting by

Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...

, now in the

Uffizi Gallery The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

as part of the Contini Bonacossi collection, giving it its alternative title of ''The Contini Bonacossi St. Jerome''. Giovanni bellini, san girolamo contini bonacossi 02

Giovanni bellini, san girolamo contini bonacossi 02

Its original location is unknown, though Gamba's theory is that it was an altarpiece for

Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Venice Santa Maria dei Miracoli is a church in the sestiere of Cannaregio, in Venice, Italy. Architecture and restoration Also known as the "marble church", it is one of the best examples of the early Venetian Renaissance including colored marble, a fals ...

, where

Jacopo Sansovino Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, best known for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. These are crucial works in the history of Venetian Renaissance archi ...

mentioned seeing a St. Jerome by Bellini completed in 1489. It uses the same composition as another '' St. Jerome in the Desert'', controversially dated to around 1505. In both works saint Jerome is shown reading in the desert, referring to both his life as a hermit and his production of the Vulgate Bible. The Florence work shows a crucifix on a tall stick, which he used as a prayer aid. His usual lion is shown, as are some birds, a lizard, a squirrel on a branch and one deer chasing another, all of which probably had symbolic meanings. At the top is a rural background with a fortress and a walled city full of guard towers and bell towers, along with other buildings based on famous buildings in

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...

and Venetia which Bellini had seen on his journey to Romagna and the Marche. The central building resembles the

Basilica of San Vitale The Basilica of San Vitale is a late antique church in Ravenna, Italy. The sixth-century church is an important surviving example of early Christian Byzantine art and architecture. It is one of eight structures in Ravenna inscribed on the UNESCO ...

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

, whilst others are based on the

Ponte di Tiberio The Bridge of Tiberius ( it, Ponte di Tiberio) or Bridge of Augustus ( la, Pons Augustus) is a Roman bridge in Rimini, Italy. The bridge features five semicircular arches made of white Istrian stone with an average span length of ca. 8 m. Ab ...

in Rimini and the

Mausoleum of Theoderic The Mausoleum of Theodoric ( it, Mausoleo di Teodorico) is an ancient monument just outside Ravenna, Italy. It was built in 520 AD by Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, as his future tomb. Description The mausoleum's current structure ...

. The marked the start of a new conception of landscape painting, connected to the predella of the Pesaro Altarpiece or the New York '' St. Francis in Ecstasy'', whose figures and background are lighter and whose atmosphere is freer than previous works.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Jerome in the Desert (Bellini, Florence) Paintings by Giovanni Bellini Paintings in the collection of the Uffizi 1480 paintings Books in art Lions in art

Bellini Bellini is an Italian name, Italian surname, formed as a patronymic or plural form of Bellino (surname), Bellino. People *Family of Italian painters: **Jacopo Bellini (c. 1396–c. 1470), father of Gentile and Giovanni **Gentile Bellini (c. 1429� ...