ATRIBUIDO AL MAESTRO DE LAS MEDIAS FIGURAS FEMENINAS... Lot n° 772

Oil on oak board. 16,5 x 15 cm. On the back inscribed in chalk. With labels on the back, one inscribed in ink: "According to Chrisite's it could be by Juan de Joanes" and two other collection labels. PROVENANCE: Collection of a Spanish Duke. The panel, of delicate workmanship and devotional character, presents the figure of St. Jerome Penitent in a wide landscape in front of the cross and next to the lion. The hat and cape hang from a nearby tree. We highlight the meticulous treatment of the plant motifs in the foreground. In the bluish backgrounds, the strong influence of Joachim Patinir, an outstanding landscape painter, with whom the Master of the Half-Figures trained, can be appreciated. From a compositional point of view, this work can be related to the prototype created by Gerard David, known through two high quality paintings from his workshop painted around 1501: one in the National Gallery in London (inv. No. 2595) and the other in the Städel Museum in Frankfurt (inv. No. 1091). This prototype was a source of inspiration for other painters of the time, such as Ambrosius Benson and Adriaen Isenbrandt. The work we present is closer to the group of works painted by Isenbrandt, which probably circulated in Antwerp, where the Master of the Half-Figures and his workshop were active. A St. Jerome by Isenbrandt, painted around 1520, is preserved in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg (inv. No. 436). Three other works of St. Jerome closely related to the workshop of the Master of the Half-Figures are known: one published in Friedländer's catalog and the second in the RKD Art Institute in The Hague (See: https://research.rkd.nl l/detail/https%3A%2f%2fdata.rkd.nl%2fimages%2f117170) and the third was auctioned at Sotheby's on December 9, 2021, lot 103 (See: https://www.sothebys.com/buy/87cfc6e0-1e08-41ff-afbb-bf43ffc5327d/lots/a66ee1a9-1851-45b2-9cc0-ba73d8dd4848