Francesco St Jerome
The Francesco St Jerome is an oil painting on copper from the circle of the Italian Renaissance artist Palma the Younger, dating from c. 1595.
The painting was believed lost for over 250 years until being rediscovered by British art collector Mark Anthony Lawrence in January 2008 and became known to the public when it was featured in a number of national newspapers in the United Kingdom and around the world after being purchased for just £350.
At the time the painting was believed to be by Palma, but after intensive research was carried out by a leading conservation and research institute in London from instruction of the paintings current owner, it was decided that the picture was not by the hand of the master himself.
Originally the painting had apparently undergone research by the owners partner, but after the breakdown of the relationship the paintings owner started to question the information he had on the work of art and decided to have the painting researched professionally at the Courtauld Institute of Art which was also of benefit to the institutions studying students. [1]
The painting dates from the height of Palma's fame and artistic ability and is likely to be by one of his talented students or a student of the artist Hendrik Goltzius and may even be by Goltzius himself who produced an engraving of the original painting which is now believed to be lost to history.
There are a number of period and later copies of Palma's painting in collections around the world, this example is believed to be the finest.One of the most outstanding aspects of the painting is its fine detail and amazingly bright colours: paintings on copper often retain their brightness and condition better than those on canvas.
Currently the painting is part of The Albertine Collection, which contains over 700 works of art, fine antiques and antiquities from around the world. This unique collection is owned by Albertine Fine Art Ltd and is loaned out to The Museum in Motion Project, which operates free public art exhibitions and visits to local schools, colleges and universities across Southern England.