GIROLAMO TROPPA (Torri in Sabina, 1637 - Rome, 1733) Saint Jerome Oil on canvas, 111X86 cm After the first studies conducted by Verani in 1961, Girolamo Troppa's personality was delineated by Stella Rudolph in 1977, and in 1980 it was Busiri Vici who dedicated an essay of considerable critical value to him, revealing himself to be an attentive collector of the painter. Although Girolamo Troppa was one of the most interesting figures of late 17th century Roman painting, he inexplicably struggled to be recognised as a leading figure due to his gloomy and naturalistic temperament that was substantially at odds with the Baroque painting in vogue. In fact, finding expressive harmony with the creations of Mattia Preti, Pier Francesco Mola and Giacinto Brandi, Troppa was able to create an elegant and cultured dialogue with the incipient classicism, evoking Carracci models with modernity without neglecting the innovations introduced by Ghezzi, Giminiani and, in particular, with Giovanni Battista Gaulli, with whom he collaborated at the Collegio Romano, affirming a conscious and intentional stylistic and cultural autonomy. Demonstrating this thesis is the canvas presented here with measured precision, which documents the elegant synthesis of pictorial tendencies, authoritatively placing itself between the chiaroscuro Lanfranchism of Giacinto Brandi and the wisdom of Marattesca, through a naturalistic sprezzatura. Wanting to focus more precisely on Troppa's personality, however, we can place him in that group of painters clearly linked to Mola's lesson, such as Giovanni Battista Boncori, Giovanni Bonati and Antonio Gherardi, suggesting that his training took place in the Ticinese painter's workshop. Proof of this is provided by the canvas under examination, the composition of which is unpublished, thus suggesting a specific commission. We thank Daniele Benati for the attribution. Reference bibliography: A. Busiri Vici, Un dimenticato pittore del tardo Seicento Gerolamo Troppa, in Scritti d'Arte, Rome 1990, pp. 430-440, fig. 4 E. Schleier, Aggiunte a Girolamo Troppa pittore e disegnatore, in Antichità Viva, XXXII, 5, 1993, pp. 16-23 E. Schleier, Girolamo Troppa, in Altomani 2004, pp. 167-177, no. 16 F. Petrucci, Girolamo Troppa, Un protagonista del barocco romano, edited by F. Petrucci, Todi 2021, ad vocem