DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.71791#0041
4
open, others closed, a bottle and a pot of blue and white ware, several little
boxes and a basket. Above the shelves, facing the Saint, is a crucifix, and
behind his chair, at the extreme right of the platform, a wooden coffer, with
his cardinal's hat lying on it.
" Attached to the side of the table is a sheet of paper which appears to
bear a signature between three lines of writing; but, when examined with a
magnifying glass, this proves to be an illusion. On the edge of the platform
are a white cat, a pot of pinks, and a pot with a small orange-tree. On a
wooden peg at the side of the shelves hang a fringed towel and a leather
pen-case; at the foot of the steps lie a pair of wooden shoes. High above
the Saint's head is an unglazed Gothic window, divided by a slender column
into two trefoil-headed lights under a round arch. On the sill of this and
two similar windows over the side bays sit some small birds, while others
are flying round. Under the window, on the right, is a vaulted hall, divided
by a row of slender columns supporting round arches. Two rectangular
windows at the further end give a view of a landscape with distant hills.
In the nearer aisle is seen a lion approaching, with a fore-paw lifted. On
the left is a room with a window looking out on a landscape crossed by a
stream. In a garden on the near side of the stream is a lady in black
walking with a white dog ; there is a boat with two men in white rowing on
the water, and on the further bank a man in red. Beyond are fields and
two cross-roads running past a castle with two towers and a church
surrounded by walls, opposite to which is another garden enclosed by a
stone wall. On the road are two horsemen, mounted, one on a black, the
other on a white horse. In the distance, some hills."
Vasari speaks (Lemonnier Ed., vol. I, p. 163) of a " St. Jerome" by
Jan van Eyck, as having belonged to Lorenzo de' Medici. " It is just
possible," says Mr. Weale, "that this may be the picture." The " Anonimo
di Morelli," writing in 1529, describes the present picture (p. 74, Ed. 1800),
and mentions Antonello, Jan van Eyck, Memlinc, and one Jacometto—meant
apparently for Jacopo de' Barbarj, the Master of the Caduceus—in connection
with it. The authorship of Antonello is proclaimed in the character of the
conception, in the general tone, and especially in the details, both as to
design and execution, of the figure of S. Jerome. This should be compared
with the Mary and John at the foot of the Cross in the Crucifixion of the
Antwerp Museum, or the Mary and Magdalen in the less important version
of the same subject in the National Gallery.
In connection with this picture Sir J. C. Robinson supplies the following
note to Lord Northbrook's catalogue:—" There are indications that at some
period of his career (doubtless before he settled at Venice) Antonello visited
and probably resided for some time in Spain, presumably in that part of the
Peninsula then under the sway of his sovereign, Alfonzo, King of Aragon,
open, others closed, a bottle and a pot of blue and white ware, several little
boxes and a basket. Above the shelves, facing the Saint, is a crucifix, and
behind his chair, at the extreme right of the platform, a wooden coffer, with
his cardinal's hat lying on it.
" Attached to the side of the table is a sheet of paper which appears to
bear a signature between three lines of writing; but, when examined with a
magnifying glass, this proves to be an illusion. On the edge of the platform
are a white cat, a pot of pinks, and a pot with a small orange-tree. On a
wooden peg at the side of the shelves hang a fringed towel and a leather
pen-case; at the foot of the steps lie a pair of wooden shoes. High above
the Saint's head is an unglazed Gothic window, divided by a slender column
into two trefoil-headed lights under a round arch. On the sill of this and
two similar windows over the side bays sit some small birds, while others
are flying round. Under the window, on the right, is a vaulted hall, divided
by a row of slender columns supporting round arches. Two rectangular
windows at the further end give a view of a landscape with distant hills.
In the nearer aisle is seen a lion approaching, with a fore-paw lifted. On
the left is a room with a window looking out on a landscape crossed by a
stream. In a garden on the near side of the stream is a lady in black
walking with a white dog ; there is a boat with two men in white rowing on
the water, and on the further bank a man in red. Beyond are fields and
two cross-roads running past a castle with two towers and a church
surrounded by walls, opposite to which is another garden enclosed by a
stone wall. On the road are two horsemen, mounted, one on a black, the
other on a white horse. In the distance, some hills."
Vasari speaks (Lemonnier Ed., vol. I, p. 163) of a " St. Jerome" by
Jan van Eyck, as having belonged to Lorenzo de' Medici. " It is just
possible," says Mr. Weale, "that this may be the picture." The " Anonimo
di Morelli," writing in 1529, describes the present picture (p. 74, Ed. 1800),
and mentions Antonello, Jan van Eyck, Memlinc, and one Jacometto—meant
apparently for Jacopo de' Barbarj, the Master of the Caduceus—in connection
with it. The authorship of Antonello is proclaimed in the character of the
conception, in the general tone, and especially in the details, both as to
design and execution, of the figure of S. Jerome. This should be compared
with the Mary and John at the foot of the Cross in the Crucifixion of the
Antwerp Museum, or the Mary and Magdalen in the less important version
of the same subject in the National Gallery.
In connection with this picture Sir J. C. Robinson supplies the following
note to Lord Northbrook's catalogue:—" There are indications that at some
period of his career (doubtless before he settled at Venice) Antonello visited
and probably resided for some time in Spain, presumably in that part of the
Peninsula then under the sway of his sovereign, Alfonzo, King of Aragon,