Lot 417: CIRCLE OF ANDREA FERRUCCI

SAINT JEROME

height 25 7/8 in.; 66.7 cm

terracotta

circa 1500

Heim Paris 1974, no. 6; Washington, New York, Cambridge 1979-1982, no. 7 (illus.); New York 1981, no. 6; Chicago 1987-1988, no. 2

Sénéchal 2007, p. 238

Heim Gallery, London

Avery (Washington, New York, Cambridge 1979-1982, op. cit.) suggested that the present figure was made by a sculptor in the circle of Andrea Ferrucci (1465-1526). The large head with substantial cranium, the narrow shoulders, the specific style of drapery and physical type echo those details in some of Ferrucci's body of work; compare a related figure of Saint John the Evangelist in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Sénéchal, no. SR36).

Also compare an extremely similar glazed terracotta figure of Saint Jerome with his lion, sold Sotheby's, London, July 5, 1990, lot 31 as 'Florentine, late 15 (th)/early 16 (th) century'. Although Saint Jerome's hair and the base differ from the present terracotta, his pose mirrors the Sackler Saint and there is no doubt that the model for both figures came from the same workshop.