Funeral of St Jerome

Episode No. 3 of the series of seven paintings “Episodes from the Life of Sts Jerome, George and Triphun”.

The Funeral of St Jerome, too, takes place in a vaguely Oriental setting, although the buildings in the background, like the ones in the previous canvas, recall the monastery of the Hospitallers in Venice. In fact, here the identification of the Scuola degli Schiavoni is even more plausible: it is the building to the left, in the background, with a sloping roof, round windows and a sort of balcony on the fa�ade. While the previous scene was full of movement, here the atmosphere is quiet, with the monks praying in front of the body of St Jerome and all the empty areas accurately delimited by buildings; only in the centre, on the other side of the walls, can we see a row of hills and a stretch of blue sky. Like all the other events he depicts, Carpaccio also builds the mournful funeral of St Jerome around colour tonalities that transform sentiment and emotion into contemplative calm and serenity.