The level of inventive detail in this devotional image of the elder St. Jerome and his lion companion resting in the rocky wilderness make this panel a prime example of the integration of landscape into religious subjects in fifteenth-century Venetian painting. In contrast to earlier and Northern depictions of St. Jerome that portrayed him as a penitent, such as lot 132, cinquecento Venetian artists typically represented the saint in a contemplative manner, often fully clothed and resting in the wilderness. Since 1929, the Diamond panel has been recognized as a stunning work from the circle of Pisanello, and though several names have been proposed over the years, the most convincing attribution is Francesco de' Franceschi. A comparison with Franceschi’s St. Mamas cycle at Yale and Museo Correr Venice reveals a similar handling of the landscape and facial features. Nonetheless, the conceit is inspired by Pisanello and is related to other painted and drawn compositions from his workshop with similar motifs.

Francesco de’ Franceschi’s life dates are uncertain, but documents referring to him in the Archivio di Stato di Venezia date from between 1443 and 1456. His only dated work is the signed Saint Peter altarpiece of 1447 now in the Civic Museum of Padua. He most likely collaborated with Antonio Vivarini and was certainly well versed in the latter’s style, adopting his calligraphic patterned facial hair and repetitive facial features. The primary inspiration for the Diamond picture must be a work by Pisanello, which has led to confusion regarding the attribution of the present lot and others like it by contemporary artists. A drawing in the Frits Lugt Collection, Paris that has variously been given to Pisanello and to Bono da Ferrara shows the bottom half of this composition, with Jerome in the same pose, his hands under his sleeves and leaning on a staff, and a similar line of small trees to the left (fig. 1).

Another painting which relates to this drawing or a lost work by Pisanello is a St. Jerome by Bono da Ferrara, who was also previously associated with the Diamond panel (fig. 2). In addition to Pisanello and Bono, earlier attributions for the present lot include Jacopo Bellini and Antonio Vivarini, but in recent years Francesco de’ Franceschi has emerged as the most convincing attribution. Among the few extant works firmly given to Franceschi is a set of four predella panels depicting the life of St. Mamas that are divided between the Yale University Art Gallery and the Museo Correr, Venice. A comparison with The Flight of the Soldiers Sent to Capture St. Mamas at Yale shows a similar approach to the composition and landscape, in particular the groupings of pebbles on the mountain ledges and the flat treatment of the lions at lower right (fig. 3).