The Story
Saint Jerome, c. 1638–40. Jusepe de Ribera (Spanish, 1591–1652). Oil on canvas; framed: 150 x 121.5 x 9 cm (59 1/16 x 47 13/16 x 3 9/16 in.); unframed: 129 x 100.3 cm (50 13/16 x 39 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund, 1961.219
Created in 1638 during the Baroque period, this work belongs firmly within the religion & mythology tradition. Jusepe de Ribera worked at a moment when the rivalry between Catholic Baroque drama and Protestant restraint reshaped what a painting could mean. Every gesture, fabric, and gleam of light was decoded by contemporary viewers like a private language.
Executed in oil on canvas, measuring Framed: 150 x 121.5 x 9 cm (59 1/16 x 47 13/16 x 3 9/16 in.); Unframed: 129 x 100.3 cm (50 13/16 x 39 1/2 in.), the surface rewards close looking. Jusepe de Ribera builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
