SAINT JEROME. OIL ON BOARD. CIRCLE OF WILLEM KEY, 16TH CENTURY.
Antiques - Paintings
Reference: ZF126
Saint Jerome. Oil on panel. Circle of Willem Key. 16th century. With monogram (illegible) and dated (right ear of the saint). Oil on oak panel showing a thin, middle-aged male figure, clothed from the waist down, seated on a stone bench on which a skull and a parchment scroll appear along with other items. To the right of the composition, a cloth can be seen in the background, a crucified Christ on a book, a red hat on a wall, placed on a closed book and a mechanical pencil; below, a lion. Eusebius Hieronymus (c. 340-420), better known as Saint Jerome or Saint Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian saint and Father of the Church who translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin at the request of Pope Damasus I (known as the Vulgate, declared in 1546 at the Council of Trent as the authentic edition for the Latin Catholic Church). He is often depicted as in this panel because of his desire during his life to live an ascetic life and do penance for his sins. The lion is the beast he rescued while meditating on the banks of the Jordan River, and which never left the saint again. In the area of the saint's right ear, an inscription can be seen, which appears to be a monogram with a date (possibly 1576). This panel is associated with the circle of Willem Key (Breda, 1516–Antwerp, 1568), a Flemish Renaissance painter specializing in portraits who, like his brother Wouters, trained in Antwerp (he with Pieter Coecke). Registered in 1549 as a citizen of Antwerp, he died suddenly in 1568 after achieving wealth and a solid social position thanks to his portraits and historical paintings, executed with a learned hand according to the verses of Lamposonio dedicated to his portrait. His religious paintings were also highly valued. Important institutions such as the Dordrecht Museum, the Alba Collection, and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam hold his work.
· Size: 125x5x120 cms. / Int 104x99 cms.
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