1594
unspecified
From the collection of Finnish National Gallery
Dominant colour
Pyhä Hieronymus is a 1594 unspecified by Palma il Giovane, held at Finnish National Gallery.
This painting shows a bare-chested man with a beard studying an open book. He’s hunched over, one hand resting on the page, the other supporting his head. A lion sits quietly beside him, and a skull lies on the table in front of him. The background has dark trees and a dim sky, making the scene feel shadowy. The skull and the lion are odd details—why include them? The artist used strong light and dark contrasts to make the figure stand out against the gloomy setting. Try looking up *chiaroscuro* to see how this lighting trick works.
Iacopo Negretti (1548/50 – 14 October 1628), best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane ('Young Palma'), was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school.
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