Description
This year’s microfibre celebrates the 71nd anniversary of Urbano’s entry into the eyewear galaxy (Safilo industry, 18 October 1946).
The Funeral of Saint Jerome is a tempera on panel painting (141 x 211 cm) by Vittore Carpaccio, dated 1502 and housed in the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni in Venice.
The extraordinary background depicts a view likely inspired by the Hospital of Santa Caterina dei Gerosolimitani, where the Schiavoni brotherhood was once based. The ancient Scuola is believed to be the building in the background on the left, with its gabled roof, arched windows, and wooden terrace. Some monks are busy with daily activities, a donkey calmly grazes, while other exotic details recall the saint’s death, according to the Golden Legend, Bethlehem: palm trees, Moorish or turbaned men, and exotic animals. On the right, the lion of Saint Jerome, now tamed, expresses its grief over the saint’s death with a roar.
The main scene unfolds in the foreground, with the deceased saint stretched out on a cushion on the geometric floor, while around him kneel a series of monks, some young, some old, one with a processional staff bearing a cross, others with books or supporting sticks. Both readers wear riveted spectacles, and the priest standing behind the saint’s head also displays the case for these at his belt.
