The Vision of Saint Jerome

We are grateful to Sir Denis Mahon for confirming the attribution upon inspection of the picture in the original. This hitherto unpublished picture has been believed to be that recorded in the Libro dei conti, 19 March 1629, when an agent for Pope Urban VIII, Sig.r Dott.re Giuliano Fagnano, paid 50 Scudi for a copper depicting Saint Jerome (B. Ghelfi, Il libro dei conti del Guercino. 1629-166, Venice, 1997, p. 55, no. 5). However, it has also been suggested that the present picture is that which was recorded on 27 October 1648 when Sig.re Girolamo Panesi paid 67 Scudi for a 'San Girolamo mezza figura' (ibid., p. 140, no. 397). The latter is closer in date to another, large version of the composition on canvas (46.12 x 38 in.), recorded in the Libro dei conti, 29 November 1652, and sold at Christie's, New York, 29 January 1999, lot 157 ($145,500).