Saint Jerome Penitent In The Cave, Hendrick De Somer (lokeren 1602 - Naples 1655)

Hendrick de Somer, known as Enrico Fiammingo
(Lokeren 1602 - Naples 1655)

Saint Jerome penitent in the cave

oil on canvas
103 x 130 cm. - In original period frame 123 x 152 cm.

This superb Saint Jerome, among the most popular and recurring figures in seventeenth-century pictorial works, is a work of extraordinary visual impact, showing the Christian monk portrayed in the guise of a hermit kneeling in the act of praying in the dim light of a cave.

The painting is undoubtedly indebted to the Neapolitan models of the early seventeenth century, and in particular the stylistic features highlight the reflections of Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652), evident both in the choice of the subject and in the dramatic expressiveness of the elderly body.

Compared to the great master, however, the canvas presents a softer pictorial approach compared to the dark and naturalistic tensions typical of his art, turning towards a neo-Venetian style of painting based on the expressive strength of colour. These considerations, combined with the descriptive attention to the face, suggest the attribution to Hendrick van Somer (1607 - 1656).

The numerous paintings of certain authenticity present in private collections and in important public collections are a fundamental comparative term with this beautiful and sentimentally intense canvas.

Among his known works there are three versions of Saint Jerome in the Desert, one in the Trafalgar Galleries in London from 1651, the other the superb Saint Jerome in the National Gallery of Palazzo Barberini in Rome signed and dated 1652 (https://it .wikipedia.org/wiki/File:San_Girolamo_in_lettura_-_Van_Somer.jpg), and also that of the Spada Gallery also in Rome.

Here are other works by the master:
https://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/ricerca.v2.jsp?filtroartigianato_OA=16402&apply=true&am....

Our work shows Somer's complex language, with the Riberesque roots evident in the choice of the subject and the dramatic expressiveness of the old arm clearly highlighted.

The Saint, with his slender body, all tense tendons and rigid bones, is placed in contrast with the large red drapery of the mantle that envelops him, alluding to his cardinal's dignity. The open book is his canonical iconographic attribute, referring to Jerome's fruitful activity as a scholar, biblical scholar and theologian, which made him the forerunner of the Renaissance humanist.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The work is completed by a beautiful antique frame and is sold with a certificate of authenticity and guarantee.

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