Artwork
The Penitent St. Jerome
The Penitent St. Jerome is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Francisco Collantes. It dates from 1635 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
This visual pairing of Jerome with the cross serves as the primary iconographic element, representing the subject's spiritual introspection and sacrifice.
Francisco Collantes's 1635 oil painting, The Penitent St. Jerome, depicts the biblical scholar Jerome in a moment of religious contemplation. The composition centers on the saint accompanied by a crucifix, emphasizing themes of penitence and devotion characteristic of religious art. This visual pairing of Jerome with the cross serves as the primary iconographic element, representing the subject's spiritual introspection and sacrifice.
The work functions as a devotional image, focusing on the internal state of the saint rather than a complex narrative scene.
Technique & Style
Created in 1635, The Penitent St. Jerome is executed in oil paint on a canvas support. The work measures 108 cm in height and 92.5 cm in width. As a religious painting by Francisco Collantes, the piece depicts the figure of Jerome alongside a crucifix.
The medium and dimensions are consistent with the artist's practice during this period, presenting a devotional subject within a standard rectangular format.
History & Provenance
The work was created in 1635 by Francisco Collantes, as indicated by the artist’s date on the painting itself and corroborated by its Wikidata record.
By the late nineteenth century it had entered the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, where it remains held today.
Francisco Collantes's painting The Penitent St. Jerome, created in 1635, is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst. The work is cataloged as an oil on canvas depicting the saint alongside a crucifix. While the specific inventory or accession number is not detailed in the available records, the museum's location and the work's inclusion in its holdings are confirmed.
The provided sources do not contain information regarding a specific exhibition history for this piece. Consequently, no past or upcoming display dates can be reported based on the current documentation.
Context
Francisco Collantes' 1635 oil painting The Penitent St. Jerome, depicting the saint in contemplation with a crucifix, was created during the Spanish Golden Age and reflects the era's intense religious devotion expressed through dramatic chiaroscuro and intimate devotional scenes. The work is housed in the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains part of their collection of Spanish religious art.
Scholarship on Collantes' penitent figures, including this Jerome, emphasizes their emotional depth and Counter-Reformation significance, situating the painting within the artist's broader exploration of solitary religious figures amidst Spanish mysticism. It is recognized as a key example of 17th-century Spanish religious painting, contributing to understanding the evolution of penitential imagery in Iberian art.
Contextually, the work exemplifies the religious fervor of the period, aligning with Counter-Reformation ideals that favored personal, emotive depictions of saints over grand narratives, thereby cementing its place in art historical narratives of Spanish Baroque spirituality.
Overview
Created in 1635 by Spanish Baroque painter Francisco Collantes, The Penitent St. Jerome is an oil painting now held by the Statens Museum for Kunst. The work presents a solitary, bearded saint in a dim interior, surrounded by symbols of mortality and devotion, while a faint landscape is visible through a distant window.
Artist & collection
Artist
Francisco Collantes (1599–1656) was a Spanish Baroque era painter. Collantes was born in Madrid but sought influence from Jusepe de Ribera and the Neapolitan School. He was also influenced by 16th century Venetian…
