Saint Jerome in the Wilderness
Andrea Mantegna·c. 1475
Historical Context
This Saint Jerome in the Wilderness by a follower of Andrea Mantegna reflects the powerful influence of the Paduan master on northern Italian painting. Mantegna's archaeological precision and monumental figure style defined an approach to religious painting that influenced artists across the Veneto and beyond. Saint Jerome's penitent retreat to the wilderness was a popular devotional subject that allowed painters to combine figure study with rocky landscape.
Technical Analysis
The tempera on poplar panel shows the characteristically sharp, sculptural figure modeling and rocky landscape setting associated with Mantegna's school. The precise, linear technique and cool palette reflect the Paduan emphasis on form and clarity.
Provenance
Ugo Bardini, Paris; sold 1925 to (Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London); sold 1925 to (Arthur J. Sulley & Co., London).[1] Otto H. Kahn [1867-1934, Mogmar Art Foundation], New York, by 1927; (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London and New York); purchased 26 April 1937 by The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh;[2] gift 1937 to NGA. [1] Ugo Bardini was the son of the dealer Stefano Bardini, Florence (1836-1922); it is possible that the painting had been owned by the father. The painting is listed in Agnew's stock book, no. 6494, as "Mantegna, St. Jerome," no dimensions, with seller and purchaser (reference provided by the Getty Provenance Index). Alfred M. Frankfurter, "Paintings by Andrea Mantegna in America," _The Antiquarian_ 13, no. 4 (November 1929): 88, states that the painting "came to America from a moderately well known English collection." [2] Kahn is identified as the owner in the following: Lionello Venturi, "Un opera inedita di Andrea Mantegna," _L'Arte_ 30 (1927): 32; Alfred M. Frankfurter, "Paintings by Andrea Mantegna in America," _Antiquarian_ 13, no. 4 (November 1929): 33; Lionello Venturi, _Pitture italiane in America_, Milan, 1931: 9, and English ed., New York, 1933: 31; Bernard Berenson, _Italian Pictures of the Renaissance_, Oxford, 1932: 328, and Italian ed., Milan, 1936: 291); Roberto Longhi, "Risarcimento di un Mantegna," _Pan_ II, no. 3 (March 1934): 512; Hans Tietze, _Meisterwerke europäischer Malerei in Amerika_, Vienna, 1935: 327, and English ed., 1939: 311. The Duveen prospectus states that the painting, then said to be by Mantegna, was "discovered in an English private collection in 1927, when it was acquired by...Kahn...in whose collection it remained until 1936" (copy in NGA curatorial files). However, letters in the Duveen Brothers Records indicate the painting was not purchased from the Mogmar Art Foundation until 14 April 1937, and that payment was made to the Foundation on April 28, just after Duveen Brothers sold the painting to the Mellon Trust (copies in NGA curatorial files; Box 473, Folder 1, Duveen Brothers Records, accession number 960015, Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles).
