Antonello da Messina’s “Saint Jerome in his Study” at the National Gallery in London

Antonello da Messina is a lesser-known Italian Renaissance painter who innovatively combined Northern European techniques of his era with Southern European aesthetic sensibilities, and is one of my favorite artists of all time. (My other favorite painting is probably his “Virgin Annunciate,” located in the Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo, Sicily.)

Given the size and extraordinary detail of “St. Jerome,” this painting rewards lengthy study.