WASHINGTON — The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is
marking the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci with a painting
by the artist that will draw crowds but also pay solemn tribute to the
larger-than-life Italian Renaissance painter, architect and inventor.
"Saint Jerome Praying in the Wilderness" — an
unfinished painting on wood on loan from the Vatican Museums — will be on
special exhibit July 15-Oct. 6.
According to the museum, the painting is displayed "in a
gallery by itself, starkly illuminated within an otherwise darkened space to
heighten the picture's contemplative dimension, which Leonardo intended. The
solemn, chapel-like setting will be an evocative nod to the funerals of great
Italian artists, which typically featured one of the artist's works as part of
the funerary display."
The work depicts St. Jerome during the latter part of his life
which he spent as a hermit in the desert. Unlike other artists' renditions of
St. Jerome, in his study or writing at a desk, this image of the biblical
scholar and church father is of an old, gaunt, nearly toothless man, draped in
cloths and kneeling in a cave, holding a rock in one hand while beside the
silhouette of a lion, his companion in the desert, according to legend.
St. Jerome, who lived from 347 to 420, is known for his
translation of most of the Bible into Latin and his commentaries on the
Gospels.
New York Times art critic Holland Cotter said those who get the
chance to see the painting at the Met will instantly recognize that it is
"a work in progress: fined-tuned here, slapped down there."
"Incompleteness is part of its power. And powerful this
picture is, as dramatically rich as a three-act opera, with a full-throttle
aria of scorching anguish at its center," he wrote. He said the saint and
the lion in the work are untamed but that the "real focus is Jerome's
agonized face," which he said portrays "inflamed spiritual
grief."
The saint's gaze is to the side corner in the direction of a
sketched crucifix. Behind him, on the upper left, is a faded landscape that
upon a closer look is said to reveal da Vinci's fingerprints.
Max Hollein, the museum's director, said the Met is
"thrilled to honor Leonardo da Vinci's legacy by displaying this rare and
exceptional painting, as it provides an intimate glimpse into the mind of a
towering figure of Western art."
He also noted the St. Jerome painting was one of "possibly
six paintings whose authorship by Leonardo has never been questioned."
The artist, famous for the "Mona Lisa" and "The
Last Supper" paintings, began working on this piece in Milan in 1483 and
is said to have kept the painting with him until he died in France in 1519.
Although da Vinci painted a number of religious works, his own
faith is subject of speculation.
A Catholic Encyclopedia entry on the artist notes that:
"Either through prudence or through scorn of abstract ideas, Leonardo
seems to have avoided declaring himself on this subject," but that as an
artist, "he accommodated himself perfectly to the Christian tradition."
The Vatican Museums' description of the St. Jerome painting says
there is no information about who commissioned the work. "Still in the
sketch state, it is one of the most enigmatic works of the great Tuscan
painter, sculptor, architect, engineer and philosopher," it adds.
The museum's description said the earliest mention of this
painting appeared in the beginning of the 19th century when the Swiss painter
Angelica Kaufmann acquired it. Pieces of the panel had been cut in two, the
lower half was covering a box and the upper half covered a stool in a
shoemaker's shop. A close look at the current exhibition reveals these repair
lines.
Throughout the year marking da Vinci's May 2, 1519, death,
museums around the world are hosting special exhibits and programs and travel
groups are offering special tours to the places where da Vinci lived.
The simple one-piece work in New York adds to the yearlong
celebration without a lot of fanfare but clearly with something to say. An
overview of the exhibit on the museum's website said the "unfinished
painting provides viewers with an extraordinary glimpse into Leonardo's
creative process" and "will pay homage to one of the most renowned
geniuses of all time."