St. Jerome

Januarius Johann Rasso Zick, artist

1730–1797

St. Jerome, circa 1770

Where object was made: Germany

Material/technique: oil; panel

Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 28.5 x 20.3 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 11 1/4 x 8 in

Credit line: Museum purchase

Accession number: 1959.0037

Not on display

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Label texts

This painting depicts St. Jerome in his study, gazing at a crucifix while surrounded by dusty tomes and leaning, enrapt, over a large volume. During the fourth century, Jerome was a prolific writer and theologian whose translations of the Old Testament into Latin and commentaries on the Bible helped to shape the early Church. While living as a hermit in the desert outside Antioch, in what is now Turkey, Jerome acquired his attribute, the lion, when one of these beasts is said to have come to the saint and allowed him to remove a thorn lodged in its paw. Here, the lion echoes the saint’s pose, perhaps implying spiritual strength.

Exhibition Label:
"Corpus," Apr-2012, Kris Ercums
This painting depicts St. Jerome in his study, gazing at a crucifix while surrounded by dusty tomes and leaning, enrapt, over a large volume. During the fourth century, Jerome was a prolific writer and theologian whose translations of the Old Testament into Latin and commentaries on the Bible helped to shape the early Church. While living as a hermit in the desert outside Antioch, in what is now Turkey, Jerome acquired his attribute, the lion, when one of these beasts is said to have come to the saint and allowed him to remove a thorn lodged in its paw. Here, the lion echoes the saint’s pose, perhaps implying spiritual strength.