Completed Continental European before 1800 49 Is this a painting by Carlo Dolci?

This does not look sufficiently finished to be autograph Dolci.

Here is a Dolci St Jerome for comparison:

https://bit.ly/3oECSbk

From what I can find online, the work of both Balassi and Vannini tended to be more highly finished than this picture appears to be. Perhaps the photo is a bit out of focus. A high-resolution image is definitely needed.

None of these three artists are convincing candidates as the painter of this work

I'm pleased that a debate is forming here, and I encourage you and others to comment further and suggest alternative attributions.

May I add that the painting we're discussing probably depicts St Mark the evangelist and not St Jerome. Even though the inclusion of the skull is rare in depictions of St Mark, such inclusion would not exclude his identification. See for instance ter Brugghen's St Mark in the Historisch Museum Deventer

As for the attribution, I still think Florentine ca 1650 is a good fit. If by Dolci, it isn't one of his highly polished paintings that align with Sassoferrata's - ex the St Jerome cited above. Here we're seeing a style that is closer to that of Vignali who was his teacher

Here is a Dolci St Mark, apparently an early work (c. 1640), when a teacher's influence would presumably have been stronger than later in his career. However, the typical high finish is already evident:

https://bit.ly/346IUrN

The iconography is much more in keeping with a St Jerome than a St Mark, not only the skull but also the degree of nakedness, though no doubt an exception is possible (although two exceptions together seem rather less likely).

Would the presence of an angel with a trumpet in the upper right not suggest Jerome rather than Mark?

Attached is a detail of the text in case it means anything to anyone.

Yes you're right about the trumpet, and I was thinking about that earlier. But St Mark is sometimes depicted alongside an angel (see the attached for two examples, even though these don't feature long trumpets). The main reason why I initially doubted whether it could be St Jerome is the colour of the his mantle. St Jerome's is invariably red, whilst St Mark's is either dark blue/green.

Do you have other details of this painting, aside from the one showing the inscription? I would appreciate seeing a good close up of the face and right hand

Jerome is most often in red but not always:

https://bit.ly/3hMaHG8

https://bit.ly/3hM14aj

https://bit.ly/2QHkAcZ

Could this possibly be Neapolitan or Roman?

Dolci appears to show hermit saints as relatively emaciated, which is not the case here, and the whole feel of the picture strikes me as too muscular/sinewy/masculine for Dolci.

The fact that this shows St Jerome with an open book displaying writing might suggest that it is meant to emphasise his position as one of the four Latin Church Fathers (along with St Gregory the Great, St Augustine and St Ambrose).

There's a painting of St Gregory (also with an open book) at the Walters Art Museum:

https://art.thewalters.org/detail/9071/saint-gregory-the-great/

which is also octagonal and similar size (128 x 106 cm, this is 112 x 89) which came from the ceiling of the library in the Dominican convent of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. It's by Jacopo Vignali and dated to around 1630. Could this be related to that?

There's also an octagonal St Ambrose, almost the same size as the Walters St Gregory, still in Florence, attributed to Vignali at the Museum of the Ospedale degli Innocenti (pdf download):

https://sigecweb.beniculturali.it/sigec/item/print/ICCD5173858

I am hardly an expert, but this looks closer to Vignali than to Dolci to me. Compare below:

https://bit.ly/3yuYr2w

https://bit.ly/3fDWjgf

Yes I'm not 100% sure it's by Dolci (and I too have not studied Florentine 17th century art in great detail) but I'm sure it's Florentine 17th century.

For what it's worth here are some other paintings by Dolci that suggested his name to me.

It would be a good idea to contact Dott Francesca Baldassarre for her views. She's the current leading authority on this artist.

Nicholas, in reply to your message 22/05/2021 15:28, please find attached details from the hand, face and inscription from the image file in the Art UK record, which clearly is somehow not the one shown on the Art UK site. I will ask relevant people at Art UK today if that can be corrected to help this discussion. Moreover, I noted an equally different colouring on the COLLAGE website with a zoom facility for other details (https://bit.ly/3bOzdm8). I have asked the Collection if they might have a better quality image. David

Thanks for sending these details which are very helpful. On the basis of these I do not think the painting is Florentine 17th century or close to Dolci. Sorry about this, but let's continue discussing because it's a good picture that will certainly lead to an identification

William Thuillier has added by email, 21/05/21: 'Or Dandini?'

The inscription text kind of looks Italian, and says something like:

bona ineroma a l'ore orazione tre mentre che il tempo va gli da via ha opportuna di [placate?] [quest?] peccatore

...which would mean something like:

good nature in the third hour of prayer, while that time goes away, he has the opportunity to appease this sinner

I realise that doesn't necessarily make very much sense(!) but perhaps someone recognises it as something written by Jerome?

Everything fits a St Jerome, but not a St Mark.

A picture of the same incident in St Jerome's life:

https://bit.ly/2TbipiB

According to the website of the Biblioteca Domenicana at Santa Maria Novella:

https://www.bibliotecadomenicana.eu/storia/

there was an extension built to the library between 1618 and 1636, which ties in nicely with the 1630s date that the Walters give to their St Gregory. The extension was then demolished to build Florence's first railway station in 1847, so any structural paintings (as this must be with the shape) would no longer be required and difficult to place elsewhere and so likely to go on the market.

The London picture was bequeathed to the City by William Dunnett in 1888, so that would tie in with the pictures being dispersed after the demolition. And according to the Guildhall website (https://bit.ly/3ff9vcA) "Dunnett is believed to have spent much of his life at Vicopelago [now part of Lucca] in Italy building up a miscellaneous collection of paintings, antiquities and other items". So clearly he was in the right place to buy Florentine paintings.

The St Jerome is a bit smaller than the St Gregory and St Ambrose (which are 128 x 106 and 130 x 110, so close as to suggest linkage) but not all four Church Fathers would necessarily be the same size in a decorative scheme, it would depend on the architecture of the extension. Artists would adjust to cope as in this asymmetrical piece by Vigneli:

https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/32932

Certainly Vigneli seems a more likely artist for the St Jerome than Dolci whose work seems sweeter and softer, perhaps reflecting later tastes. Obviously there will be some similarities as Dolci was Vignali's pupil, but this looks more like the latter.

It would seem we need a Vignali expert, if there's one to be had.

From left field, it reminds me slightly of Johan Carl Loth.

Below is a St Jerome by Loth. It has a different feel, less Italian, even though Loth spent most of his career in Venice:

https://bit.ly/3uEuNow

The new and improved photo of the picture in question shows greater finish, but I still doubt it is by Dolci.

Kindly note I wrote to Prof Francesca Baldassari about this painting. As mentioned above she is the leading authority on Dolci and artists from his circle. Whilst she agreed with me that the painting is Florentine dating to the 1650s, she said that the painting is "very close to the young Florentine painter Alessandro Rosi". To be sure, she must see it in person.

Rosi (1627-1697) was a pupil of Vignali and Cesare Dandini. The head of the St. Benedict in the picture below resembles our St Jerome:

https://bit.ly/3yYPFtK

Another bearded saint by Rosi:

https://bit.ly/3ihHLpx

For some reason, the image shown with this discussion looks different on different computers. On the one I am using right now, it looks abnormally yellowish and slightly blurry, which is not how it looks when one opens the separate entry for the picture on Art UK (which is how it looks on a different computer to me). This may be a problem for interested parties, such as in Italy, who could contribute to the discussion given an optimal image.

Could this be by Mattia Preti (1613-1699)? I have attached a composite based on his 'Homer'. https://tinyurl.com/3ddjmr8c

Preti's work was more dramatic or theatrical, I think.

Here is composite based on a Saint Jerome by Preti.
https://www.wga.hu/html_m/p/preti/stjerome.html

Sorry but this painting is not by Preti, who is incidentally the artist I specialised on and have published about. I believe, as Prof Baldassare also confirmed as per above, the painting is Florentine

To go back to the inscription on the book that the saint is holding, which does seem to start something like "Bona speranza ... Am I right in thinking that it is signed, just below the saint's fingers?

Just below the saint's fingers appears to be the word "Mense" ("month") but other letters could be covered.. Also, the "s" could be a "d", but the only artist I could think of whose name starts with "Mend" is Mendozzi, but the style isn't his

Initially I was thinking of Domenico Fetti, whose figures are usually illuminated by rather bright light (a rubenesque feature so to speak?) Perhaps the 'essence' of this painting can be a bit better summarized as 'the skin paleness' that is so typical of Desubleo or Guercino. Surprisingly the pose of the hermit seems indeed to be borrowed directly from Guercino, no less:

http://www.artnet.com/artists/guercino/saint-jerome-in-the-wilderness-b8R9IofUgi0jBMw3n4IoCg2

who actually was quite fond of painting multiple St. Jeromes over the course of his truly remarkable artistic career. The choice of the mostly dark palette for the background and total the absence of the red colour are a bit puzzling though. However this recent addition to his oeuvre is similar in appearance:

http://www.alaintruong.com/archives/2009/01/14/12093916.html

Perhaps the glorious blue pigment is hidden under the varnish or the photo doesn't show the true colours.

Pier Francesco Mola (1612–1666)? https://tinyurl.com/2p8rbvkw

I have attached a composite based on an image on Wikimedia Commons of ‘Saint Pierre en prière’ (the Louvre). https://tinyurl.com/4yfenhe3. The sitters are clearly the same person.

They need not be the same person, Marcie. They could both be types as opposed to portraits of actual people.

This work by Cesare Gennari seems to confirm the Bolognese origin of the painting in question:

https://www.anca-aste.it/it/asta-0733/la-visione-di-san-girolamo-.asp

One can safely assume that Cesare Gennari draws heavily on the invention by either Guercino or someone in his orbit.

Sorry for coming late to this party. I think the iconography favors St. Jerome over St. Mark, but it’s certainly debatable.

I lean towards Guercino (and thought so before reading comments) but like the argument between Jerome and Mark, I find the argument for Dolci plausible but not convincing. However the image isn’t super sharp and no one here can attest to overpaint and condition.

I’d suggest to OP to consult with Nicholas Turner on the Guercino attribution, and provide him high resolution images of the front and back. He’d want to see the paint strokes. Dr. John Marciari is also working on a catalog for Guercino.

…sorry, I can’t seem to edit and I meant to add the final sentence “Until consulting with them, I’d catalog this is “follower of Guercino”.

Hi, can the gallery please update the catalogue note in line with the recommendation of Prof Francesca Baldassari's attribution, to avoid further confusion? Above in the comments, back in 2021, I had consulted her on the painting and she indicated the following: "Whilst she agreed with me that the painting is Florentine dating to the 1650s, she said that the painting is "very close to the young Florentine painter Alessandro Rosi". To be sure, she must see it in person."

In light of the above, we should catalogue this painting as "Attributed to Alessandro Rosi"

I agree with Nicholas de Gaetano and Prof. Francesca Baldassari and recommend to the Art UK panel that the City of London collection should classify the painting as Florentine School 1650s, possibly attributed to Alessandro Rosi (1627-1697), who trained alongside Carlo Dolci (1616-1686). I also suggest that it should be titled St Jerome hearing the trumpet of the Last Judgement, which is what the subject is called in the print by Jusepe de Ribera https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_W-6-102.

The City of London Corporation has been contacted.

The collection replied by return, 'Many thanks for this interesting information, and to all the Art Detectives! I think given the expert view we would be happy to attribute the painting to Rosi and to align the title with the British Museum print.'