Flemish school; first half of the 17th century.

Flemish school; first half of the 17th century.
"Penitent St. Jerome".
Oil on copper.
It has a XVII century frame of ebonized wood.
Measurements: 22,5 x 16,5 cm; 33 x 27 cm (frame).
In this canvas the theme of St. Jerome penitent in the desert is approached through a baroque and open composition. The saint appears full-length, highlighted by the contrasting lighting. Returning to the center of the scene, it is worth mentioning the saint's posture, concentrating on the crucifix, while with one of his hands he holds the Holy Scriptures, which are placed on a stump at whose feet we can appreciate the skull and the skull, usual attributes of the saint's representation, to which the lion is added, which in this case is on the left side of the composition.
One of the four great Doctors of the Latin Church, Saint Jerome was born near Aquileia (Italy) in 347. Trained in Rome, he was an accomplished rhetorician and polyglot. Baptized at the age of nineteen, between 375 and 378 he retired to the Syrian desert to lead an anchorite's life. He returned to Rome in 382 and became a collaborator of Pope Damasus. One of the most frequent representations of this saint is his penance in the desert. His attributes are the stone he uses to beat his chest and the skull on which he meditates. Also the cardinal's cape (or a red mantle), although he was never a cardinal, and the tamed lion. The latter comes from a story of the "Golden Legend", where it is narrated that one day, when he was explaining the Bible to the monks of his convent, he saw a lion coming with a limp. He removed the thorn from its paw, and from then on he kept it in his service, instructing it to look after his donkey while it grazed. Some merchants stole the donkey, and the lion recovered it, returning it to the saint without hurting the animal.