Flemish school; first half of the 16th century.

Flemish school; first half of the 16th century.
"Penitent St. Jerome".
Oil on oak panel.
It presents slight restorations.
Shows inscription on the back "Burgos".
Measurements: 37 x 28 cm.
The painting represents San Jerónimo in penitent attitude, retired in a wild landscape that unfolds with the characteristic meticulousness of the Flemish school of the first half of the XVI century. The figure of the saint appears half-naked, with a wiry body and marked by asceticism, kneeling next to a rock with one hand resting on a skull.
The surrounding landscape, far from being a mere decorative background, constitutes an essential element of the work. The spatial depth unfolds through a succession of planes that go from the rocky foreground to a horizon where gothic constructions and leafy forests are insinuated. The attention to detail, visible in the meticulously described vegetation and textures, refers to the Nordic tradition that, from Jan van Eyck to Joachim Patinir, confers a symbolic and expressive role to the natural environment. This type of landscape, loaded with spiritual meanings, reinforces the idea of retreat and mystical contemplation, and at the same time it shows the technical virtuosity of the Flemish painters.
The theme of St. Jerome in the desert was especially appreciated in the northern Europe of the 16th century, where the figure of the intellectual hermit - translator of the Vulgate and model of penitent life - responded to the religious concerns of the time. In the Flemish context, his representation became a perfect synthesis of devotion, erudition and landscape. The proliferation of this theme in small and medium-sized works suggests its use both in private devotional spaces and in humanist cabinets.
The Flemish school, heir to the optical detailism of the 15th century and open to the new currents of the Italian Renaissance, is distinguished in this period by its ability to integrate Christian spirituality with an empirical observation of the world. This work, by articulating a sacred figure with a natural environment of extraordinary realism, embodies that synthesis, and is part of a deeply internalized and visually sophisticated religious sensibility.