ERMANNO STROIFFI (Padua, 1616 - Venice, 1693) Saint Jerome Oil on canvas, 117X98 cm Provenance: Vienna, Dorotheum, 14-17 January 1975, lot 87 (as Johann Carl Loth) London, Sotheby's, 2 November 2000, lot 62 (as attributed to Pietro Negri) Already attributed to Bernardo Strozzi, Pietro Negri and Loth, the painting was traced back to the catalogue of Ermanno Stroiffi by Filippo Pedrocco. An analysis of the work shows remarkable qualitative aspects and the drawing structure betrays the influences of the Cappuccino, which is particularly noticeable in the face and in the more energetic and immediate impastoes, but equally evident is the tenebrosa and tonal tension, which denotes an execution related to the creations of Giovanni Battista Langetti and Johann Carl Loth. This aspect, consequently, suggests that we are in the presence of a mature execution, when the artist freed himself from the teachings of the Genoese and fully participated in the lagoon tenebrism. Having said this, given the qualitative standard of the painter, it is not surprising the praise formulated by Marco Boschini in his Carta Del Navegar pitoresco, who defined Stroiffi as a 'Pitor che molto val, el so penel denota gran valor, le' tutta vigor, le' tutto cuor', an appreciation that elevates Stroiffi to a higher rank than a mere imitator and, like his aforementioned colleagues, capable of reinterpreting the chiaroscuro of Tintoretto and Palma il Giovane, heralding the contrasts of light of Giovanni Battista Piazzetta. The work is accompanied by a critical card by Filippo Pedrocco. Reference bibliography: R. Pallucchini, La Pittura Veneziana del Seicento, I, Milan 1981, p. 337 D. Cristante, News and updates for Ermanno Stroiffi, in Arte Documento, 11, 1997, pp. 108-117