PALMA IL GIOVANE (JACOPO NEGRETTI)

SAINT HIERONIMUS

A signature to the left on the stone: JACOBVS PALMA.F.

The picture was painted in 1594 and presented by the artist to his patron Francesco Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino. It is unanimously agreed that the canvas in the Pushkin Museum is one of the finest works from the mature period of Palma Giovane's work.

There is a group of drawings known to be linked to the creation of this painting. Despite a number of differences it is possible that precisely this canvas was engraved by Hendrik Goltzius in 1596.

Provenance: to judge from the inscription on the reverse it had been held in St. Petersburg since the 1820s; acquired by the Pushkin Museum from OGPU (United State Political Administration) in 1928.