Saint Jerome in His Study
c. 1566
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate: 23.9 × 18.4 cm (9 7/16 × 7 1/4 in.); Sheet: 24.3 × 18.8 cm (9 5/8 × 7 7/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
38464
Art Historical Context
In the intricate engraving *Saint Jerome in His Study created around 1566 by Flemish artist Hieronymus Wierix, we encounter a revered Church Father immersed in scholarly devotion. Wierix, a master engraver from a prominent Antwerp family of printmakers, captures Jerome amid his iconic attributes: surrounded by books, a skull symbolizing mortality, and often a lion representing his legendary taming of the beast. This religious subject, drawn from medieval legends, embodies themes of penance, translation of the Vulgate Bible, and contemplative life, resonating deeply in 16th-century Catholic Eur...