Saint Jerome in the Wilderness
Artist
Paul Bril
(Flemish, 1554 - 1626)
Depicted
Saint Jerome
(ca. 347 – 420)
Dateca. 1595-1600
CultureItalian
MediumOil on canvas
ClassificationPaintings
Provenance(Frederick Mont, New York); purchased in 1959 by the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida.
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object numberSN707
This unusual depiction of St. Jerome takes place in the evening twilight, the moon just becoming visible. In an act of penitence, Jerome pounds his chest with a rock, his red cloak and open book identifying him as the author of the Vulgate Bible. In the background, a lion is visible, referencing the scene in which Jerome plucked a thorn from the lion's paw. The animal then became his devoted companion. Bril was a celebrate painted in early Baroque Rome, receiving commissions from Popes Sixtus V and Clement VIII. His oeuvre is almost entirely devoted to landscape paintings, and his style was embraced by several French artists.
On View
On viewLocation
- Museum of Art, Gallery 07
Collections
Frame: 43 1/2 x 58 x 4 1/2 in. (110.5 x 147.3 x 11.4 cm)
ca. 1600s
