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Giovanni Bellini
(about 1430–1516)
Saint Jerome in the Wilderness
Venice, about 1460
Tempera on wood
Saint Jerome (died 419) was a scholar who translated the Bible into Latin. He also retired to the wilderness and lived in seclusion as a hermit. According to legend, he removed a thorn from the paw of a lion who then became his companion. Here, Jerome exchanges the scholar’s study for a cave. Beyond is a sunlit landscape full of natural details possibly representing the comfortable life he has forsaken and the heavenly future he will gain.
Giovanni Bellini played a crucial role in the development of Venetian painting, introducing a glowing use of colour and a new feeling for closely-observed landscape.
Purchased 1949 (No. 49.1)
A Portrait of a Boy
Venice, about 1475
Oil on wood
This panel originally formed the lid of an inheritance chest. This was constructed to hold the marble bust of Angelo Probi who died in 1474. He was ambassador to Venice for the King of Naples. The portrait therefore probably shows his son musing on his father’s fate.
The inscription on the marble ledge records that it is the work of Giovanni Bellini, the Venetian. Bellini adds the words ‘Non Aliter’, meaning ‘not otherwise’. This is perhaps a claim for his skill as a portraitist, someone who can preserve accurately forever what age and death destroy.
Purchased 1946 (No. 46.11)