Francesco GranacciItalian, 1469–1543St Jerome in the desert
Can I see it?
Unknown
Where is “St Jerome in the desert” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Unknown.
London, United Kingdom
The owner is known; whether it is on view today is not.
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Francesco Granacci (1469-1543) trained in Florence, with Michelangelo, in the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio (1448/9-1494), and the two then studied sculpture in the Medici garden at S Marco under the supervision of Bertoldo di Giovanni (ca.1420-1491). Granacci was an important member of the Ghirlandaio’s workshop during the 1490s before going to Rome in order to assist Michelangelo in painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. According to Vasari, Granacci was often employed by the Medici to design scenery and festive decorations.
Read on
This painting of circular format could have been a tondo or a desco da parto (birth tray) due to its relatively small size. The subject presents St Jerome in the desert in a traditional way, the saint kneeling before a crucifix, a rock in his hand as a sign of penitence. This work may have been made for private devotion. On account of their edifying penitential subject-matter, images of St. Jerome in the Desert were especially popular as secular decorations in Renaissance Florence.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- E.371-2006
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
