Saint Jerome
Medium
Pen and brown ink, over traces of black chalk, heightened with touches of lead white (discolored), on tan laid paper
Dimensions
26.7 × 21.3 cm (10 9/16 × 8 7/16 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
85084
Art Historical Context
Bartolomeo Passarotti’s *Saint Jerome* showcases the refined draftsmanship of a leading 16th-century Bolognese artist. Working in pen and brown ink over faint black chalk, with touches of lead white on tan laid paper, Passarotti creates a lively study that balances precise line work with subtle tonal modeling. The compact sheet, just over 10 by 8 inches, rewards close viewing as the artist explores the textures of drapery, flesh, and attributes associated with the scholarly saint. Drawings of this kind occupied an important place in Renaissance workshop practice. They served both as preparato...
About the Artist
Bartolomeo Passarotti · 1529–1592
Comment on works: History, Portraits