Albrecht Dürer, 'Saint Jerome', about 1495. London, The National Gallery.

Saints: Saint Jerome

Saint Jerome was the first person to translate the Bible into Latin from the original Greek and Hebrew in 386, and he was an advisor to the Pope Damasus I. Jerome is sometimes depicted wearing cardinal's red robes; a red cardinal's hat is one of his attributes. He spent four years as a hermit in the desert, and is frequently shown beating his breast with a stone to punish himself for being tempted by sinful thoughts. A tame lion, from whose paw he is said to have removed a thorn, is often present.

Artists depict Saint Jerome either as a ragged penitent, sometimes kneeling in the wilderness, as in this painting by Dürer, or as a red-robed scholar, working on his translation. Both representations of him were intended to encourage the viewer to follow a spiritual way of life.

See Also

• Antonello de Messina, 'Saint Jerome in his Study'
• Carlo Crivelli, 'The Madonna della Rondine'

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