Saint Jerome by the Pollard Willow (1512, Met-Objekt 151)
Original title: Saint Jerome by the Pollard Willow
kurzbeschreibung
This print departs from the familiar image of Saint Jerome as a scholar in his study. Instead, he is placed in a rocky wilderness, accompanied by a lion, a book, and a crucifix. Albrecht Dürer made the drypoint in 1512; the impression here is the second of three states.
Description
An old man with a full white beard and shorn head kneels with hands clasped. On a stone slab before him lies an open book, beside it a crucifix and a bowl with a dove. Lower left, a lion rests by the edge of a body of water, while on the right a pollarded willow rises with a bare trunk. Tall rock walls enclose the view, a landscape with a tower appears in the distance, and at the top center a cartouche carries the date “15 12”.
Context
The sheet was made in 1512 in Nuremberg, when Dürer was deeply engaged with printmaking techniques. Drypoint was still new at the time and allowed only a limited number of good impressions. The subject of Saint Jerome was highly popular in the Renaissance and stood for scholarship and ascetic piety; this print belongs to a series of saint images Dürer produced in those years.
Impact
Dense, delicate lines give the image a quiet, absorbed atmosphere that invites looking and reflection. Because color is absent, the eye focuses entirely on the closely observed surfaces and the play of light and shadow, which lends the sheet a particular intimacy.
Technique
In drypoint, the design is scratched directly into the copper plate with a needle, giving a soft, slightly blurred impression. The burr thrown up during scratching takes the ink unevenly, producing the characteristic dark, velvety lines. The sheet is trimmed to the plate edge, as was customary for early impressions.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)