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St Jerome is portrayed in the dual role of penitent hermit in the wilderness, and humanist, intent on reading. He is sitting in a wild, desert landscape with a city in the background that signifies the contrast between nature and civilisation. A lion, hidden in its den, from whose paw Jerome is said to have removed a thorn, is keeping him company. In the foreground, a thin cross stands in the ground, while a lizard crawls behind it. This animal traditionally symbolised death and the resurrection, given its ability to hibernate.
The landscape, with the desert and city, may have represented hope for a return to a harmony between nature and humanity. In Giovanni Bellini's works, the depiction of the landscape takes on an essential role: castles, mountains, rocks, trees and clouds have the same importance as the main subjects depicted, whether holy or profane. The city that stands out in the background is imaginary, although it consists of real – albeit not Venetian - architecture: the church of San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Theodoric in Ravenna, the Bridge of Tiberius in Rimini, and the bell tower of Sant'Anastasia in Verona, all buildings that Bellini had probably been able to draw and then use in his compositions.
This is an authograph version of the theme, other versions being in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and in the National Gallery, London.
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