Saints Christopher, Jerome and Louis of Toulouse
Saints Christopher, Jerome and Louis of Toulouse | |
---|---|
Artist | Giovanni Bellini |
Year | 1513 |
Medium | Oil on panel |
Dimensions | 300 cm × 185 cm (120 in × 73 in) |
Location | San Giovanni Crisostomo, Venice |
Saints Christopher, Jerome and Louis of Toulouse is an oil-on-panel painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Giovanni Bellini, executed in 1513, and housed in the church of San Giovanni Crisostomo, Venice.
History
The painting dates to Bellini's late career, when he had adopted Giorgione's tonalism. It had been commissioned in 1494 by the Venetian merchant Giorgio Diletti. It is however signed and dated 1513, but it is not known why there were some twenty years between the commissioning and the execution.
Description
The layout is that of the Holy Conversation typical of the Venetian tradition, largely owed to works by Bellini himself, with an arch opening to a landscape in the background, and three figures of saints. Instead of the usual throne with the Virgin, there is St. Jerome, portrayed as a hermit, on a rock, while reading the Bible. Below, separated by a parapet where is the cartouche with the signature, are St. Christopher and a Saint bishop.
The latter had been originally identified as St. Augustine based on text on the book (De civitate Dei), which was later revealed to be apocryphal, as it is not placed on the front cover. Basing on the presence of lilies on the cloak, those of the House of Anjou, the character has been recognized as St. Louis of Toulouse.
The saints were perhaps chosen depending from Neoplatonic themes, with St. Louis symbolizing the contemplative and liturgic life, and St. Christopher symbolizing preaching. According to this view, Jerome would thus be the highest point of spiritual life. The arch above him is a symbol of the Catholic church, and has a Greek inscription of the Psalm 14, referring to St. Jerome as the sage mentioned in it. The use of Greek derives from San Crisostomo's role as church of the Greek-speaking Venetians.
Sources
- Olivari, Mariolina (2004). "Giovanni Bellini". Pittori del Rinascimento (in Italian). Florence: Scala.
- v
- t
- e
- St. Jerome in the Desert (Birmingham)
- Madonna and Child (Pavia)
- Transfiguration (Venice)
- Pietà (Bergamo)
- Crucifixion
- Pietà (Milan)
- Agony in the Garden
- Dead Christ Supported by Two Angels
- Presentation at the Temple
- Christ Blessing (Paris)
- Frizzoni Madonna
- Madonna and Child Blessing
- The Blood of the Redeemer
- Madonna and Child (Milan, 1460–1465)
- Greek Madonna
- Nativity Triptych
- Saint Vincent Ferrer Altarpiece
- San Lorenzo Triptych
- San Sebastiano Triptych
- Triptych of the Madonna
- The Head of St John the Baptist
- Dead Christ Supported by Two Angels (Berlin)
- Dead Christ Supported by Angels (Rimini)
- The Dead Christ Supported by the Virgin Mary and St John the Evangelist
- Lehman Madonna
- Pesaro Altarpiece
- Portrait of Georg Fugger
- Lochis Madonna
- Madonna and Child (Verona)
- Enthroned Madonna Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child
- Madonna and Child (Venice, 1475)
- Madonna Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child
- St. Francis in Ecstasy
- Contarini Madonna
- Resurrection of Christ
- Portrait of a Humanist
- Transfiguration of Christ (Naples)
- Willys Madonna
- St. Jerome in the Desert (Florence)
- Saint Jerome Reading in a Landscape
- Alzano Madonna
- Madonna of the Red Cherubim
- Madonna and Child (New York, late 1480s)
- San Giobbe Altarpiece
- Madonna and Child with Saint Peter and Saint Sebastian
- Madonna of the Small Trees
- Barbarigo Altarpiece
- Frari Triptych
- Madonna and Child with Saint Mary Magdalene and Saint Ursula
- Portrait of a Young Man in Red
- Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John the Baptist
- Portrait of a Young Man (Paris)
- Holy Allegory
- Portrait of a Young Senator
- Allegories
- Portrait of a Condottiero
- Annunciation
- Christ Blessing (Fort Worth)
- Circumcision of Christ*
- Lamentation over the Dead Christ (Florence)
- Portrait of a Young Man (Washington)
- Self-Portrait
- Portrait of a Young Man (Liverpool)
- Baptism of Christ
- Head of the Redeemer
- Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan
- Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and a Female Saint
- Martinengo Pietà
- Portrait of a Young Man (Royal Collection)
- St. Jerome in the Desert (Washington)
- San Zaccaria Altarpiece
- Madonna del Prato
- Portrait of the Loredan Family
- The Infant Bacchus
- Sacred Conversation (Madrid)
- St. Mark Preaching in Alexandria
- The Assassination of Saint Peter Martyr
- Madonna and Child with Four Saints and Donor
- The Continence of Scipio
- Madonna and Child (Detroit)
- Madonna and Child (Rome)
- Madonna and Child (Milan, 1510)
- Virgin in Glory with Saints
- Saints Christopher, Jerome and Louis of Toulouse
- The Feast of the Gods
- Drunkenness of Noah
- Naked Young Woman in Front of a Mirror
- Portrait of Fra Teodoro of Urbino as Saint Dominic
- Deposition
- Martyrdom of Saint Maurice and his Comrades (illuminated manuscript; attributed)
- San Zaccaria, Venice (1995 photograph)
- Venetian Renaissance
- Jacopo Bellini (father)
- Gentile Bellini (brother)
- Andrea Mantegna (brother-in-law)