Saint Jerome in Penitence

Marco Zoppo's Saint Jerome in Penitence belongs to this Bologna-born painter's engagement with the tradition of Squarcione's Paduan workshop, where he trained before establishing himself in Venice and later Bologna. Zoppo combined Mantegna's sculptural approach to figures with a more painterly warmth, and his Jerome in the wilderness demonstrates his characteristic approach: the aged saint's body shown with careful anatomical observation in the rocky landscape setting that emphasized the ascetic withdrawal from civilization. Zoppo's works are relatively rare, and his Saint Jerome contributes to the documentation of Paduan-influenced painting as it developed through multiple centers of northern Italy.

Zoppo's characteristically angular, almost jagged figure style and intense facial expression reflect his Squarcionesque training, with sharp linear modeling and a stark, rocky landscape setting that emphasizes the saint's ascetic suffering.