Saint Jerome

This section of an altarpiece showing Saint Jerome is probably a comparatively early work by Schiavone. It is thought to come from S. Niccolò, Padua.

Jerome was born in Dalmatia in 342 and is one of the four Doctors of the Church, together with Ambrose, Augustine and Gregory the Great. He made the first translation of the Bible in Latin: the Vulgate. He held an official post under Pope Damasus I, and is sometimes depicted wearing cardinal's robes. The cardinal's red hat is one of his attributes (although there was no such office at the time).

He spent four years as a hermit in the desert, where he beat his breast when tempted by sinful thoughts. This is symbolised by another attribute, the stone (an artistic invention), and his bloodied breast. He is supposed to have removed a thorn from the paw of a lion, which he then befriended.