Artwork Page for Saint Jerome

Details / Information for Saint Jerome

Saint Jerome

c. 1621

Hendrick ter Brugghen

(Dutch, 1588–1629)
Culture
Flanders
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
Framed: 149.2 x 125.4 x 8.3 cm (58 3/4 x 49 3/8 x 3 1/4 in.); Painted surface: 125.5 x 102 cm (49 7/16 x 40 3/16 in.); Tacking margins of oritinal fabric let out: 131.5 x 107 cm (51 3/4 x 42 1/8 in.); Former: 148 x 124.1 x 7 cm (58 1/4 x 48 7/8 x 2 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1977.2
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

Not all subjects are easy to identify. This museum long thought that the subject was the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, largely because tears are part of the standard representation of this ancient thinker. However, ter Brugghen omits the other crucial key to identifying Heraclitus--a globe over which he weeps. Instead, the book and skull indicate that the figure is Saint Jerome, known for translating the Bible into Latin. The artist probably chose to show Jerome crying to intensify his penitence.
A vertically oriented oil painting depicts Saint Jerome, an older man with light skin tone, white hair, and a beard. Jerome rests his head on his right hand with a furrowed brow, his left index finger pointing at an open, worn book and a skull on a table. He wears a dark cloak over yellow-brown sleeves. Intense light from our left illuminates his features, contrasting with the plain, dark background.

Saint Jerome

c. 1621

Hendrick ter Brugghen

(Dutch, 1588–1629)
Flanders

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