Representations of St Jerome
by Lucas CRANACH the Elder

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




Summary of works by Lucas Cranach the Elder
Paintings
altar retables | representations of the Virgin | St Jerome
religious themes until 1515 | from 1516
biblical scenes | biblical nudes
mythological nudes | Venus and Lucretia | allegorical scenes
portraits until 1515 | 1516-1526 | from 1527
miscellaneous paintings
Graphics
drawings | woodcuts