Saint Jerome in Penitence (1644): Artwork and History

Saint Jerome in Penitence (1644) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Ferdinand Bol Dutch, 1616-1680.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

Ferdinand Bol studied with Rembrandt van Rijn in Amsterdam, where he set up his own shop around 1642. Two years later, he produced this atmospheric etching of Saint Jerome, which is particularly reminiscent of the master in its shadows and arched top. Although his early works were long mistaken for Rembrandt’s, Bol signed this print at the bottom right. He would eventually trade the dark palette and historical figure studies of the older artist for a lighter tonality and more elite clientele, which would make him one of the most financially successful Dutch painters of his era.

Object facts

• Title: Saint Jerome in Penitence
• Date: 1644
• Artist attribution: Ferdinand Bol Dutch, 1616-1680
• Place of origin: Holland
• Medium: Etching on ivory laid paper
• Dimensions: Plate: 28.3 × 24.4 cm (11 3/16 × 9 5/8 in.); Sheet: 28.8 × 24.8 cm (11 3/8 × 9 13/16 in.)
• Type: Print
• Department: Prints and Drawings
• Reference number: 1960.837

Collection credit

Gift of Marie Louise Pritchard

View the original

Explore the artwork in the Art Institute's collection, including its image and the museum's current catalogue details.

The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.