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Original fileKerkvader Hiëronymus als kluizenaar
About This Work
The saint is shown as a muscular, semi-clothed figure holding a stone for self-mortification while contemplating a skull and sacred texts. A cardinal's hat lies discarded on the ground, signaling his rejection of worldly honors for a life of solitude. In the background, a detailed landscape features a bridge, a village, and travelers with camels moving through a valley.
Saint Jerome was a primary model for the Renaissance 'scholar-hermit,' representing the 'vita contemplativa' or contemplative life central to Neoplatonic and Christian mystical thought. His role as the translator of the Vulgate Bible made him a patron figure for the philological and esoteric study of sacred languages during the 16th century.
Inscriptions(Latin)
Multiplici pollens doctrina HIERONYMVS, oris Varij stupenda präditus facundia, Arcta Patrum sectans veterum vestigia, sacro Vitas eorum prosecutus est stylo. Sadeler exc. 29
Translation
HIERONYMUS, flourishing in manifold learning, Endowed with the stupendous eloquence of speech, Following closely the narrow tracks of the ancient Fathers, With a sacred pen he pursued their lives. Sadeler exc. 29
Connected Texts
Desiderius Erasmus
Erasmus’s 'Life of Jerome' redefined the saint as the ideal humanist scholar-mystic, a view reflected in this print's emphasis on Jerome's manifold learning.
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 168 mm x width 217 mm
religious
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.