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This painting derives from a composition by Joos van Cleve that is in turn based on a painting of this subject executed by Albrecht Dürer in Antwerp in 1521. According to Micha Leeflang, Dürer's painting provides a terminus post quem for van Cleve's composition (Joos van Cleve: A Sixteenth-Century Antwerp Artist and his Workshop, Turnhout, 2015, pp. 179-180). Further dated examples are known, including works dated 1530 (Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach) and 1540 (Musée Oldmasters, Brussels).
Ludwig Meyer, formerly of the Archiv für Kunstgeschichte, Munich, had proposed an alternative attribution to an artist in the circle of Jan Sanders van Hemessen on account of similarities with the artist's work. Meyer further suggested that this painting and at least seven further known variants, all but two of which are today in public collections, derive from a lost prototype, likely by Quentin Metsys.
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Condition report
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The panel has been cradled on the reverse. The varnish is clear, if somewhat yellowed, and the paint stable on the support. A fine craquelure is visible in natural light. Two vertical hairline cracks measuring approximately 8 inches in length extend upward from the bottom edge. Some scattered, now discolored retouching to close the vertical wood grain is visible in natural light, notably in the green tablecloth. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals scattered fine touches, particularly in the torso and face of Saint Jerome, as well as retouching to three scratches, one in the landscape, another extending downward from the window ledge to Saint Jerome’s upper arm and a third extending through his proper left breast into the red binding of the book. The painting is in fair condition and can be displayed in its current state, according to taste.
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Lot 97Sale 19740
The Penitent Saint Jerome in his studyFOLLOWER OF JOOS VAN CLEVE Estimate: USD 15,000 - 20,000
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