Saint Jerome Writing, c.1604/06 Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610)

We create our paintings with museum quality and covering the highest academic standards. Once we get your order, it will be entirely hand-painted with oil on canvas. All the materials we use are the highest level, being totally artist graded painting materials and linen canvas.

We will add 1.6" (4 cm) additional blank canvas all over the painting for stretching.

High quality and detailing in every inch are time consuming. The reproduction of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio also needs time to dry in order to be completely ready for shipping, as this is crucial to not be damaged during transportation.
Based on the size, level of detail and complexity we need 8-9 weeks to complete the process.

In case the delivery date needs to be extended in time, or we are overloaded with requests, there will be an email sent to you sharing the new timelines of production and delivery.

TOPofART wants to remind you to keep patient, in order to get you the highest quality, being our mission to fulfill your expectations.

We not stretch and frame our oil paintings due to several reasons:
Painting reproduction is a high quality expensive product, which we cannot risk to damage by sending it being stretched.
Also, there are postal restrictions, regarding the size of the shipment.
Additionally, due to the dimensions of the stretched canvas, the shipment price may exceed the price of the product itself.

You can stretch and frame your painting in your local frame-shop.

Once the painting Saint Jerome Writing is ready and dry, it will be shipped to your delivery address. The canvas will be rolled-up in a secure postal tube.

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The paintings we create are only of museum quality. Our academy graduated artists will never allow a compromise in the quality and detail of the ordered painting. TOPofART do not work, and will never allow ourselves to work with low quality studios from the Far East. We are based in Europe, and quality is our highest priority.

Saint Jerome is depicted in a moment of deep engagement with Scripture, poised at a wooden table with quill in hand and ancient volumes spread before him. His lean figure is emphasized by a voluminous red cloak, which contrasts sharply against the dark background and the pallor of his skin. The presence of the skull, placed in close dialogue with Jerome’s own bald head, underscores the theme of mortality that permeates the work. Despite the limited number of elements, the overall effect is one of concentrated gravity.

The painting’s color palette amplifies its somber mood. Caravaggio’s signature chiaroscuro sets Jerome in stark relief, with the light accentuating the folds of the cloak, the breadth of the open pages, and the creases of his aged features. The deep reds intensify the emotional gravity, while the surrounding darkness creates a contemplative stillness. This interplay between brilliance and shadow encourages the viewer to linger on the saint’s form and to read the lines and folds as significant markers of his spiritual journey.

In technique, one observes the rapid execution suggested by certain irregularities—particularly in Jerome’s beard and in the shaping of the books and drapery. Nonetheless, Caravaggio’s ability to depict tangible textures and lifelike forms remains apparent. The brushwork, though not meticulously refined, displays a remarkable understanding of flesh, cloth, and even the sheen on the skull. Such painterly freedom reinforces the overall immediacy of the piece, as if Caravaggio chose to emphasize the evocative intensity of his subject rather than pursue minute detail.

Compositionally, the table and open books create a broad horizontal plane that stabilizes the canvas, while Jerome’s hunched shoulders and extended arm form a diagonal thrust, uniting the figure with his objects of study. The skull, balanced at the upper left, mirrors the saint’s concentrated expression, almost as though his own mortality stares back at him. This symmetrical tension between the saint’s mindful gaze and the skull’s silent presence reminds the viewer of the perpetual link between knowledge and the inevitability of death.

Painted in the early years of the 17th century, the work reflects the shifting religious climate, with Catholic reformers championing images that were straightforward and devout. Commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the canvas was part of a broader cultural response to the theological debates of the era. The austere depiction—contrasting starkly with Renaissance representations of Jerome as a lavish scholar—signals a return to essentials, highlighting spiritual introspection over material splendor. Here, Jerome’s dedication to translating Scripture becomes a testament to the durability of faith and scholarship amid the fleeting nature of earthly life.