03 — ARTWORK
St Jerome
- MEDIUM
- Oil on panel, 60 x 48 cm
- TYPE
- Religious
PALETTE
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- FILE
- 807 × 1016 px · JPEG
COMMENTARY
UNDERLINED TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE GLOSSARY.
Dürer painted St Jerome in Antwerp in March 1521 and presented the panelTerm in painting for a support of wood, metal, or other rigid substance, as distinct from canvas. Until the adoption of canvas in the 15th century nearly all the movable paintings of Europe were executed on wood, and even up to the beginning of the 17th century it is probable that as much painting was done on the one support as on the other. Painters who worked on a small scale often used copper panels (Elsheimer is a leading example), and in the colonial art of South America copper and tin and even lead and zinc were used. On a larger scale, slate has occasionally been used as a support, notably by Rubens for his altarpiece for Sta Maria in Vallicella (the Chiesa Nuova) in Rome; the picture he originally painted was said to reflect the light unpleasantly and slate was used for the replacement to produce a more matt finish. For wood panels the Italian masters of the Renaissance preferred white poplar, while oak was the most common wood used in northern Europe. Many other types were used, however; analysis of the contents of art galleries has yielded a long list, including beech, cedar, chestnut, fir, larch, linden, mahogany, olive, and walnut. In the 20th century cedar, teak, and dark walnut are favourites, and modern painters have also used plywood, fibre-board, and other synthetic materials as supports. to his friend Rodrigo Fernandez d'Almada. He wrote in his diary: `I painted a Jerome carefully in oils and gave it to Rodrigo of Portugal.' The panel was displayed in the merchant's private chapela small separate place for worship, either part of a large church or a separate building. in Antwerp and was later taken back to Portugal. It is the only religious picture that Dürer painted in the Netherlands.
The figure of the saint is based on a drawing of an old bearded man. On the drawing, Dürer inscribed: `The man was 93 years old and yet healthy and strong in Antwerp.' The skull in the painting, which Dürer had also sketched separately (Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna), was probably the `little skull' which he had recorded buying for two pennies several months earlier in Cologne.
In the painting, St Jerome, bearing the wrinkled features of the 93 year-old, rests his right hand against his head, in a contemplative pose. With his index finger of the other hand he lightly touches the skull, a symbol of the brevity of life. The skull is symbolically placed between the open Bible on a small lecternA reading stand or desk, especially one at which the Bible is read. and the inkColoured fluid used for writing, drawing, or printing. Inks usually have staining power without body, but printers' inks are pigments mixed with oil and varnish, and are opaque. The use of inks goes back in China and Egypt to at least 2500 BC. They were usually made from lampblack (a pigment made from soot) or a red ochre ground into a solution of glue or gums. These materials were moulded into dry sticks or blocks, which were then mixed with water for use. Ink brought from China or Japan in such dry form came to be known in the West as 'Chinese ink' or 'Indian ink'. The names are also given to a similar preparation made in Europe.-well, a reminder of the saint's role as the translator of the Bible. The aged St Jerome looks despondently out of the picture. Dürer's painting was strongly influenced by Flemish art, particularly the work of Quentin Massys.
There is an inscription on the slip of paper sticking out of the book, monogrammed and dated 1521.
OTHER WORKS BY ALBRECHT DÜRER
CITE THIS RECORD — BIBTEX
@online{wga-r0a7b83d6a15983,
author = {Krén, Emil and Marx, Daniel},
title = {St Jerome by DÜRER, Albrecht},
organization = {{Web Gallery of Art}},
date = {2026-09-13},
url = {https://beta.wga.hu/artists/drer-albrecht-r9b10ff91cb62c2/st-jerome-r0a7b83d6a15983},
urldate = {2026-09-13},
langid = {english}
}ACCESSED 2026-09-13. REPLACE THE AUTHOR FIELD WITH THE COMMENTARY AUTHOR WHERE ONE IS NAMED.