WHAT?  Parmigianino: The Vision of Saint Jerome 

WHERE? The National Gallery, Room 46, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN

WHEN?  Now until 9th March 2025.  Free to view.  

WHY GO?  For an ecclesiastical mash up.  Italian old master Parmigianino was in fact very young when he painted The Vision of St Jerome, just 23. Known as ‘the little one from Parma’ he was a child prodigy in his day.

Oddly, his famous altarpiece is also known as The Madonna and Child with Saints and even more puzzling, it is strangely disproportionate in scale.  

John the Baptist is amazonian and St Jerome is minuscule (and comatose) while Virgin Mary, as immaculate as ever, sits with baby Jesus who resembles a toddler all set for nursery school.

Parmigianino broke all the rules of Renaissance composition and was a dynamic exponent of ‘mannerism’.

The towering altarpiece, stored away for ten years, has now been beautifully restored and is glorious to behold.  All 12ft of ecclesiastical art fills Room 46 which is free to visit for an art epiphany.

Who was St Jerome?  All is revealed and more, plus a baffling self portrait of Parmigianino, painted when he was just twenty.

His talent was considered remarkable even at a time when artists were plentiful and saintly images the order of the day. 

Sadly though, he also died too young at 37, having almost completed his most famous masterpiece, Madonna with the Long Neck which is in the Uffizi Gallery. 

IN THE KNOW  Learn more about Parmigianino in the inspired setting of The Italian Cultural Institute in Belgrave Square where project curator Dr Maria Alambritis will deliver a special lecture on his life related to the exhibition. 

Taking place on Thursday 6th February, free tickets can be booked online.