In the Middle Ages the Church Father Jerome, whose Latin translation of the Bible from early Hebrew and Greek texts is still in use and known as the 'Vulgate'(the generally familiar version), became one of the most prominent saints.

St Jerome is generally shown in paintings as a penitent in the desert, which for want of knowledge of its true nature is represented as a kind of richly wooded wasteland. However, another pictorial type was also formulated, emphasizing his philological work and making him a role model, even among humanists: it shows Jerome as a cardinal in his study, working on texts.

Cranach painted several versions of both types, the Penitent St Jerome in the Desert, St Jerome in his Study, and the blend of the two types, St Jerome Writing in a Landscape.

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	The Penance of St Jerome 1502 Oil and tempera on limewood, 56 x 42 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	1000*1329 True Color 162 Kb
	St Jerome Writing in a Landscape c. 1515 Oil and tempera on wood, 68 x 58 cm JAPS Collection, Mexico City	1200*1385 True Color 240 Kb
	St Jerome Writing in a Landscape (detail) c. 1515 Oil and tempera on wood JAPS Collection, Mexico City	1030*1350 True Color 187 Kb
	St Jerome in a Landscape 1515-20 Limewood panel, 51 x 38 cm Staatliche Museen, Berlin	800*1113 True Color 140 Kb
	St Jerome in the Desert c. 1525 Oil and tempera on firwood, 90 x 67 cm Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum, Innsbruck	808*1200 True Color 197 Kb
	Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg as St Jerome in His Study 1525 Oil and tempera on limewood, 117 x 78 cm Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt	1072*1600 True Color 205 Kb
	Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg as St Jerome in His Study (detail) 1525 Oil and tempera on limewood Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt	1080*1400 True Color 195 Kb
	Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg as St Jerome in His Study 1526 Oil and tempera on wood, 115 x 79 cm Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota	1000*1446 True Color 191 Kb
	Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg as St Jerome in His Study (detail) 1526 Oil and tempera on wood Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota	1129*1500 True Color 209 Kb
	Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg as St Jerome in a Landscape 1527 Wood Staatliche Museen, Berlin	836*1300 True Color 156 Kb