Attributed to JOSÉ MORENO (Burgos, ca. 1642-h. 1674)."Penitent Saint Jerome",Oil on canvas. Old re-

Attributed to JOSÉ MORENO (Burgos, ca. 1642-h. 1674).
"Penitent Saint Jerome",
Oil on canvas. Old re-enteled.
It presents slight repaintings and faults in the canvas.
Measurements: 122 x 103 cm; 149 x 130 cm (frame).
The representation of St. Jerome was one of the most recurrent themes during the reform. This is largely due to his work as a translator of the bible, and a precursor of the spread of the word of God. For this reason, a very well-defined iconographic pattern was established with regard to the representation of the saint, this work being one of the best examples as it includes all the attributes that define the saint. Examples include the skull, the lion, the stone he holds in his hand, the red cloak, the books, the trumpet, the pen and the hourglass representing the passing of time. The scene is notable for the use of bright tones, both in the landscape and in the interior occupied by the saint, which provide a glorified view of this traditional scene.
One of the four great Doctors of the Latin Church, Saint Jerome was born near Aquileia (Italy) in 347. Trained in Rome, he was an accomplished rhetorician and polyglot. Baptised at the age of nineteen, between 375 and 378 he withdrew to the Syrian desert to lead an anchorite's life. He returned to Rome in 382 and became a collaborator of Pope Damasus. One of the most frequent representations of this saint is his penance in the desert. His attributes are the stone he uses to beat his chest and the skull on which he meditates. Also the cardinal's capelet (or a red mantle), although he was never a cardinal, and the tamed lion. The latter comes from a story in the "Golden Legend", where it is narrated that one day, when he was explaining the Bible to the monks in his convent, he saw a lion limping towards him. He removed the thorn from the lion's paw, and from then on he kept it in his service, instructing it to look after his donkey while he grazed. Some merchants stole the donkey, and the lion recovered it, returning it to the saint without hurting the animal.
There is little biographical information about José Moreno, to whom the Museo del Prado, in its biography, attributes a Burgalese origin. However, other sources indicate that the painter, whose father was from Burgos, was born in Madrid. His relationship with painting is established through the deaths of his parents, who left as executors the painters Juan de Alfaro, Juan Montero de Rojas and Gregorio Fosman. The Museo del Prado biography mentions the presence of José Moreno as a disciple of Francisco Solís's workshop in Madrid. Palomino defines his painting by emphasising his precise drawing, the clarity of the chosen tones and his great taste for decoration, bringing him close to painters of the Madrid Baroque school, such as Alonso Cano and Sebastián Herrera Barnuevo, or to Juan Carreño de Miranda. Palomino wrote in his book that José Moreno's output was not very extensive and that most of his works belonged to private collections. However, there are several works by the artist in collections accessible to the public, such as the Visitation in the Museo del Prado, The Flight into Egypt, of which there are several copies, and Saint Francis and Saint John the Baptist, which belong to the collection of the Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes in Saragossa.