Caravaggio's San Girolamo Scrivente on View at Pinacoteca Ambrosiana

Caravaggio's painting 'San Girolamo Scrivente' (1605-1606) is now displayed at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan, replacing the 'Canestra di Frutta'. The work, normally housed at the Galleria Borghese in Rome, is exhibited in the Biblioteca Federiciana, where it is surrounded by eight preparatory drawings of Saint Jerome by artists including Albrecht Dürer, Giuseppe Nuvolone, Guercino, and Giulio Romano. The painting depicts Saint Jerome alone against a black background, with a red mantle, a skull, and an open book. The artist emphasizes the saint's intense gaze and aged hands, avoiding traditional studiolo or landscape settings. The work is considered a turning point in Caravaggio's career, as in 1606 he killed a man during a brawl, after which his style shifted toward darker, more tormented subjects.