St Jerome

St Jerome is represented gazing on the crucifix in a moment of meditation. He rests his head on his left hand, while in his right he holds the sacred scriptures and a skull rests on his lap: these are his attributes, emblematic of his life as a hermit.

The present painting is considered to be among Luciano Borzone’s first works, characterised by a certain formal rigour, as well as an interest in naturalism. The Saint’s expression reveals how Borzone had already learnt to observe nature. The painting reveals evident ties with the Lombard painters whom Borzone could have studied in the collection of his patron, Giovanni Carlo Doria. Moreover, this was also a crucial moment for the development of painting in Genoa due to the influence of painters from Tuscany, Orazio Gentileschi and Giovanni Battista Paggi, from whom Borzone took inspiration for the formal elegance of the present St Jerome. Borzone skillfully combined Tuscan mannerism with the new-found realism of the Caravaggists, demonstrating that he was among the first to embrace the innovations of Caravaggio.

The painting is signed lower right: LVCIANO/BORZONE/FACEVA.