Saint Jerome in His Study (1514, Met-Objekt 150)
Original title: Saint Jerome in His Study
kurzbeschreibung
Albrecht Dürer's 1514 engraving portrays Saint Jerome in his study. The scholar bends over a book at a wooden desk, surrounded by objects rich in symbolic meaning and by sleeping animals.
Description
An older man in a dark, fur-trimmed robe, wearing a cardinal's hat and a halo, leans over a manuscript. In the foreground a large lion sleeps, with two small dogs nearby. Light enters from the left through a barred window; on its sill rest a cushion and a skull. On the right wall hang a kettle, an hourglass, a cardinal's hat, and books.
Context
Dürer made this print in 1514 in Nuremberg, during a period of deep engagement with humanist ideals. Jerome served as a model of scholarship and ascetic life. The work belongs to a group of master engravings that also includes 'Knight, Death and the Devil' and 'Melencolia I'.
Impact
A quiet, collected mood emanates from the scene, heightened by the incoming light and the sleeping animals. The detailed treatment of the interior creates an intimate, almost devotional atmosphere that draws the viewer into the scholar's world.
Technique
For this sheet Dürer used engraving, in which lines are incised into a metal plate. The fine hatching and precise control of light demonstrate his confident handling of this method, which permits a high degree of detail.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)