Audio and Written Experience
You are now in front of one of the two chapels located beside the high altar. You can see two canvases: Virgin in Glory Appearing to Saints Jerome and Charles and Episode from the Life of Saint Jerome. Both works are oil paintings executed by lesser-known artists.
Virgin in Glory Appearing to Saints Jerome and Charles was painted by the Venetian artist Negretti Jacopo, known as Palma il Giovane (1544–1628).
The canvas depicts the Virgin in glory, seated on a cloud with the naked Child in her arms, surrounded by cherubs’ heads. Below stand Saint Jerome on the left and Saint Charles on the right, with a distant view of Venice behind them. The painting is set within an ornate stone frame of classical style, featuring two Corinthian columns.
Beneath the altarpiece is an altar frontal divided into three parts, with Saint Jerome Penitent in the Desert at the center and two symmetrical decorative panels at the sides; Jerome is shown in profile, holding in his right hand a stone with which he is about to strike his chest.
On you left you can see the other canvas: this was painted by Michieli Andrea, known as Vicentino (c. 1544–c. 1619), and represents an episode from the life of Saint Jerome relating to the period when he was archbishop. On the left, the saint is seated within a niche of a classical building, embracing a lion and pointing to a scene unfolding outside.
On either side, additional religious figures occupy and animate the scene. Beneath this canvas stands a dark wood cabinet, a quintessential example of humble Venetian craftsmanship. Despite its simplicity, the piece exhibits great formal elegance derived from the purity of its volumes.
Now go to the left and have a look at the main altar.