Venetian school; First half of the XVII century.

Venetian school; First half of the seventeenth century.
"Penitent St. Jerome".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Measurements: 93 x 77 cm.
This work represents St. Jerome in penitent attitude, one of the most recurrent themes of the Counter-Reformation iconography, in which the saint appears as a model of asceticism, study of the Scriptures and renunciation of the world. The figure is presented in an environment of solitude, underlining the introspective and spiritual character of the episode, common in 17th century Venetian representations.The painting is inspired by a model by Leandro Bassano, belonging to a private collection of unknown location and documented in the Fototeca Zeri, with historical attributions collected by Roberto Longhi. The diffusion of this type of compositions explains the existence of numerous versions made by workshop and followers within the Venetian sphere.
Leandro Bassano, son of Jacopo Bassano, began his training in the family workshop and later developed his career in Venice, where he evolved towards a more mature and autonomous style. His painting is characterized by the progressive abandonment of the paternal modeling in favor of larger chromatic surfaces, a dense pictorial matter and a soft and atmospheric lighting, features that contribute to a greater visual unity of the scene.
His pictorial language also incorporates diverse influences, such as the mannerism of Federico Zuccari, the portrait tradition of Bartolomeo Passarotti and Frans Pourbus the Younger, as well as the psychological penetration comparable to that of Giovan Battista Moroni. Likewise, his production is enriched by contributions from the Flemish environment in Italy, especially Abraham Bloemaert and Paolo Fiammingo.
In this context, the work reflects the survival of the Bassanesque models in the Veneto during the first half of the 17th century, characterized by their restrained naturalism, the warm treatment of light and the balanced integration between figure and landscape. It is probably a workshop replica or a close follower, adapting the original model to the devotional demands of the time.