Saint Jerome in Penitence (c. 1480–1500): Art, History and Details

Saint Jerome in Penitence (c. 1480–1500) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In this inhospitable landscape, Saint Jerome appears strong and sure, praying toward a crucifix and holding a rock to beat his chest. Jerome retreated to the desert near Antioch (present-day Turkey) for four years to purify his soul through physical suffering. The cardinal’s hat and book refer to his later work translating the Bible into Latin, and the lion was his companion after he pulled a thorn from its paw. A tree holding a crucifix with a skull at its base refers to Christ’s cross and to Eden. The man at left may be a traveling friar begging for sustenance.

Object facts

• Title: Saint Jerome in Penitence
• Date: c. 1480–1500
• Culture: Italy, Florence or Northern Italy, 15th century
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Dimensions: Image: 15.1 x 21.6 cm (5 15/16 x 8 1/2 in.); Sheet: 15.1 x 21.6 cm (5 15/16 x 8 1/2 in.)
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1949.33

A detail from the museum

The rock in Saint Jerome's hand was used by the saint to beat his chest when he experienced hallucinations brought on by his isolation in the desert.

Collection credit

Dudley P. Allen Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Francis, Henry. "Florentine Engravings of the Fifteenth Century." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 38, no. 3 (March 1951): 63-65.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.