Focus on this artwork and explore the Description.
The painting is divided into two narrative sectors: a lower one, with Saint Jerome is sleeping near the crucifix (with his traditional symbol, the cardinal hat visible near a skull) and receives the vision of St. John the Baptist, identified by the long cross and the baptismal washbasin which is tied at his belt; St. John indicates the Child, represented in the upper sector between the legs of the Madonna, with a shining background behind them.
Parmigianino's attention to detail is shown by the Baptist's reed cross, the speckled skin which covers him, the undergrowth near the sleeping Jerome, the sheen on Mary's dress, the last perhaps inspired by classical sculptures seen by Parmigianino during his trips.
St. John's raised right arm and upwards-pointing finger are reminiscent of Leonardo's painting St. John the Baptist.
Leonardo's Parmigianino St. John the Baptist John the Baptist Jerome Saint Jerome