Funeral of St. Jerome

Filippo Lippi's Funeral of Saint Jerome, painted around 1452 and now in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Prato, is part of the cycle of works he produced during his years in Prato. The subject of Jerome's funeral was relatively unusual in Italian art and demonstrates Lippi's willingness to tackle less conventional themes. The work was produced during the period when Lippi was also painting the celebrated fresco cycle in Prato Cathedral depicting the lives of Saints Stephen and John the Baptist.

Lippi renders the funeral scene with characteristic narrative clarity, using his refined linear style and soft color to organize the multi-figure composition with the spatial sophistication of his mature period.