Painting Depicting Saint Jerome

Beautiful oil painting depicting Saint Jerome, caught in the moment of meditation and writing. The saint is represented half-naked, wrapped in the typical red cloak, while with one hand he holds a large open volume and with the other he holds a pen, in a gesture that underlines his activity as a translator and doctor of the Church.

The composition is enriched by numerous iconographic symbols: the skull, emblem of vanitas and meditation on the transience of life; the lion, his traditional attribute, depicted here in the foreground with a watchful expression; the golden trombone that directs a beam of light onto the saint from above, an allusion to the divine call and revelation.

17th century, Italian school.