Penitent Saint Jerome – Kunsthistorisches Museum – Vienna
The panel, of small size, was probably conceived as a predella panel for an unidentified altarpiece and depicts Saint Jerome penitent: the saint is indeed kneeling and facing the crucifix in front of him, and he holds in his right hand the stone with which he’s hitting his chest as a sign of repentance.
His iconographic attributes are next to him: on the right you there is the typical red hat, while on the left the lion is lying on the grass. In the foreground, Perugino portrayed with meticulous precision some herbal species: this attention to naturalistic details betrays a certain influence from the Flemish works, arrived in Florence around 1490, and suggests that the painting can be dated back to those years.
In the background, a landscape fades into the haze, where only a small fortified village and mountains can be seen: the skilful tonal passages, typical of the effect of aerial perspective, create the illusion of an infinite space.
The work, whose origin is not known, is currently preserved at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
