Artwork Page for Saint Jerome and the Lion (From the former Church of St. Peter in Erfurt)

Details / Information for Saint Jerome and the Lion (From the former Church of St. Peter in Erfurt)

Saint Jerome and the Lion (From the former Church of St. Peter in Erfurt)

c. 1495

Tilman Riemenschneider

(German, active Würzburg, c. 1460–1531)
Culture
Germany, Würzburg, late 15th Century
Medium
alabaster, traces of polychromy
Measurements
Overall: 37.8 x 28.1 x 15.9 cm (14 7/8 x 11 1/16 x 6 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1946.82
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
111 German and Austrian Gothic
Print
?

Did You Know?

In the story Saint Jerome encounters a fearsome lion, here depicted as diminutive, gentle, and submissive.

Description

According to legend, Saint Jerome (347–420 bce) lived in the desert, where he removed a thorn from an injured lion. Jerome is venerated in the Catholic Church as a Church Father, an important early author of Christianity. Here, he wears cardinal’s clothing from around 1500.

Tilman Riemenschneider focused on Jerome’s relationship with the lion, creating empathy for the wounded animal. The delicacy of the depiction, which may have been partially painted to add highlights, is typical of alabaster, as is its fine polishing. The cord of the cardinal’s hat, missing today, may have been supplemented from another material.
A small beige sculpture of a man sitting on a bench next to a small lion. The man is dressed in a robe and wearing a hood, holding the lion's paw and removing a thorn from it. He is holding a flat hat between his right arm and his lap.

Saint Jerome and the Lion (From the former Church of St. Peter in Erfurt)

c. 1495

Tilman Riemenschneider

(German, active Würzburg, c. 1460–1531)
Germany, Würzburg, late 15th Century

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Shop the CMA Store

    Shop More Art

    Contact Us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.