Predella panels with episodes from Saint Jerome’s life and Christ on the tomb – Musée du Louvre – Paris
The three panels were used as predella compartments of an unidentified altarpiece, probably dedicated to Saint Jerome as well.
The small paintings, dating back to the early years of 1470, show two miracles performed by the Saint: the scene of Saint Jerome who resurrects Cardinal Andrea (on the right) derives from an apocryphal letter of Cyril, the bishop of Jerusalem, addressed to Saint Augustine, while the episode depicting Saint Jerome assisting the two unjustly hanged young men refers to a story from the Hieronymanium by John of Andrew.
In both panels, the figure of Saint Jerome, with his red cardinal habit, is well recognizable; in the left painting, the saint is in the center, caught in the act of holding up the two young hanged men depicted naked, while in the right one he faces Cardinal Andrea, whose resurrection has already happened.
Saint Jerome is instead absent in the central painting, showing the dead Christ: the body of Jesus emerges from the tomb, a classical structure in white marble profiled in red porphyry, while the symbols of his passion lay on the golden background.
The works are preserved at the Musée du Louvre, in Paris.
