St Jerome and the Angel

This painting was executed for Santa Trinità delle Monache. The immediate source is Ribera’s own print of 1621, which has been altered to heighten the dramatic impact of the angel, who rouses the saint from his studies by sounding the trumpet of the Last Judgment. More important is the level of technical maturity, as evinced in the richly textured brushwork that enlivens every square millimetre of the surface. The powerful contrast of light and shadow produces what contemporary theorists most admired about Ribera’s painting - his “relievo,” that ability to make two-dimensional objects seem as if they were projecting outward from the canvas. The brilliant red drapery over the saint’s leg also provides the composition with an electrifying accent.