Saint Jerome in Penitence

Stefano Mulinari was an 18th-century Italian printmaker whose work bridges the late Baroque and Neoclassical periods. This small but intricate etching with aquatint depicts Saint Jerome, the 4th-century scholar who translated the Bible into Latin, in his traditional pose of penitence in the wilderness. Jerome was a favorite subject for artists, typically shown as an aged hermit beating his chest with a stone while contemplating a crucifix. Mulinari's interpretation likely follows this iconographic tradition, rendered in the dramatic chiaroscuro effects that etching and aquatint could achieve together. The aquatint technique, which creates tonal areas rather than just lines, was relatively new in the 1750s and allowed printmakers to achieve painterly atmospheric effects. Given that Mulinari would have been only about nine years old in 1750, this dating may be approximate or the work could be from his early professional years in the 1760s. Looking at Mulinari's body of work—which includes religious subjects like the Flagellation of Christ, the Entombment, and the Descent of the Holy Ghost—this Saint Jerome fits comfortably within his devotional repertoire. His prints often feature dramatic biblical narratives rendered with careful attention to light and shadow, making spiritual subjects accessible through the popular medium of printmaking.