Restored in 1995 with Save Venice general funds.

Toward the middle of the fifteenth century Andrea Corbelli was conceded an altar for his burial in the church of Santo Stefano. The altar was dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, a thirteenth-century Augustinian friar who had recently been canonized in 1446. It is generally believed that Pietro Lombardo and his workshop began work on the sculptures that decorated this altar around 1475-80; the figures are stylistically similar to those on the tomb of Doge Pietro Mocenigo in Santi Giovanni e Paolo, completed by Lombardo and his workshop around the same time. The figure of Saint Jerome in the cloister, together with two additional sculptures of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino and Saint Andrew, also at Santo Stefano, are all that remain of the original Corbelli altar.

Saint Jerome is signed by Pietro Lombardo himself along the base of the sculpture. The figure is rendered in sensitive detail, from the fine carving of his beard to the vivid wrinkles on his knees. He draws back his garment with his left hand, bearing his chest, as he prepares to left the rock of his self-flagellation that he clutches in his right hand.

The reddish pigment surviving on some areas of the sculpture, such as the rock and the pedestal, was likely a preparatory ground applied prior to gilding. This practice was common in Lombardo’s workshop, as seen in the bust-length figures of Saint Nicholas of Bari and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, attributed to Pietro’s workshop and also displayed in the cloister of Santo Stefano.

The sculpture was restored by conservator Toto Bergamo and the Sansovino restoration firm, with the guidance of project director Ettore Merkel of the Superintendency of Fine Arts of Venice.

For select projects, conservation dossiers in Italian containing limited textual and photographic documentation may be available for consultation by appointment at the Venice office of Save Venice and the Rosand Library & Study Center. For inquiries, please contact us at venice@savevenice.org.

Pietro Lombardo (c. 1430–1515)
Saint Jerome
c. 1475-80, marble
109 cm tall

Chorus Association: Church of Santo Stefano