Artwork

The Apotheosis of Saint Jerome with Saint Peter of Alcántara and Antonino da Patti

The Apotheosis of Saint Jerome with Saint Peter of Alcántara and Antonino da Patti is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Giambattista Pittoni. It dates from 1725 and is held in the collection of the Scottish National Gallery.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The work centers on Saint Peter of Alcántara, a figure associated with the Spanish Counter-Reformation, whose inclusion in a Venetian context is noted as rare.

The painting depicts the celestial glorification of Saint Jerome, accompanied by Saint Peter of Alcántara and an unidentified Franciscan saint. The work centers on Saint Peter of Alcántara, a figure associated with the Spanish Counter-Reformation, whose inclusion in a Venetian context is noted as rare. Alongside Jerome, the composition features Antonino da Patti, identified in the title as a Franciscan figure present in the scene. The imagery represents a spiritual elevation of these saints, aligning with the religious genre typical of the artist's output in the mid-1720s.

Technique & Style

The Apotheosis of Saint Jerome with Saint Peter of Alcántara and Antonino da Patti is an oil painting executed on canvas, a medium consistent with Giambattista Pittoni's standard practice for large-scale religious commissions. The work is a vertically oriented panel measuring 275 cm in height by 143 cm in width, a tall, narrow format well suited to its altarpiece-like devotional subject of Franciscan saints in heavenly glory. Stylistically, the composition is of interest for its inclusion of Saint Peter of Alcántara, a Counter-Reformation Spanish saint whose depiction is described as rare within the Venetian painting tradition of the period.

History & Provenance

The Apotheosis of Saint Jerome with Saint Peter of Alcántara and Antonino da Patti was painted by Giambattista Pittoni in 1725, executed in oil on canvas and measuring 275 by 143 cm. The Italian Wikipedia entry records the work as part of the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, with the painting's early history reflected in its citation in A.M. Zanetti's 1733 publication and again in the 1771 edition, followed by references in G.A. Moschini's 1847 account and W. Arslan's 1951 study, indicating its circulation in the art-historical literature. The painting was acquired by the Scottish National Gallery in 1960 through purchase, and is catalogued under accession number NG 2238 (inventory 47-29).

The painting is held in the permanent collection of the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh, part of the National Galleries of Scotland. Its inventory number is NG 2238, and it was acquired by the gallery through purchase in 1960. The work is catalogued externally under the related inventory reference 47-29 at the Museo Nazionale di Scozia. No prior exhibition history beyond its acquisition is recorded in the available sources.