Parmigianino: The Vision of Saint Jerome Exhibition Catalogue

Special Gallery price £14.95 - RRP: £16.99

Accompanies the exhibition at the National Gallery, London, 5 December 2024–9 March 2025.

Parmigianino (1503–1540), whose nickname means ‘the little one from Parma’, was one of the most influential and accomplished Italian artists of the sixteenth century. The Vision of Saint Jerome, painted when he was just 23 years old, is Parmigianino’s masterpiece from the brief time he spent in Rome.  

The dramatic events of the Sack of Rome in 1527 curtailed the young artist’s ambitions and he was forced to flee the city, leaving his painting hidden away for safekeeping. 

This book examines the creation of The Vision of Saint Jerome, exploring its innovative composition and iconography. Parmigianino was a prolific draughtsman, renowned for his supremely elegant style. Featuring all the surviving preparatory drawings, from velvety chalk studies to swirling pen and ink sketches, this publication illuminates the artist’s inspired design process. 

Tracing the eventful history of the painting up to its arrival in the National Gallery in 1826, texts also place The Vision of Saint Jerome in the context of Parmigianino’s critical legacy. Including an account of the work’s recent conservation, this book is an essential companion to the painting.

Author

Maria Alambritis is Project Curator: Parmigianino, formerly Vivmar Curatorial Fellow at the National Gallery, London.

Matthias Wivel is Head of Research at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, formerly Curator of Sixteenth-Century Italian Paintings at the National Gallery, London.

With contributions by Larry Keith and Aimee Ng.