The artwork titled “Saint Jerome” was created by Lucas Cranach the Elder around the year 1515 in Germany. This piece, belonging to the Northern Renaissance art movement, is an oil painting on a panel with dimensions of 68 x 57 cm. It is a religious painting that portrays Saint Jerome, a renowned scholar and translator of the Bible.
In the artwork, Saint Jerome is depicted in a tranquil setting, deeply immersed in his scholarly work. He is seated at a wooden desk, using an ink pen to write on a piece of paper. The saint, identifiable by his traditional depiction with a long beard and bare upper body, seems to be in a contemplative state. Surrounding him is a serene landscape with lush trees, rocky cliffs, and a distant view of a church and mountains under a clear blue sky. To his left, partially obscured by trees, is a lion, an animal often associated with Saint Jerome due to the legend of him removing a thorn from a lion’s paw. The detailed and vivid background showcases Cranach’s meticulous attention to detail and his mastery in rendering naturalistic scenes, characteristic of the Northern Renaissance style.
