Brooklyn Museum: European Art: Saint Jerome, part of an altarpiece

Want to add this object to a set? Please join the Posse, or log in.

Saint Jerome, part of an altarpiece

Donato dei Bardi worked in Genoa, a city that had close ties to France in the early fifteenth century and where the artist could familiarize himself with the smooth surfaces and intricate details of Franco-Flemish painting. The refined qualities of hair and fur in the figure of Saint Jerome reflect Donato’s inspiration from Northern painting.

Saint Jerome is often shown in a cardinal’s robe and hat to reflect his work for the Church. The open book and the pen refer to the saint’s scholarly accomplishments: he was the first to translate the New Testament from Hebrew and Greek into Latin, a text that much later became known as the Vulgate. A lion almost always accompanies Jerome, who was said to have removed a thorn from its paw, thus making a loyal friend of the wild beast.

Artist: Donato de' Bardi, Italian, Lombard-Ligurian School, active 1426-1450/51
Medium: Tempera and and tooled gold on panel
Place Made: Italy
Dates: ca. 1445-1450
Dimensions: 47 1/2 x 18 1/2 in. (120.7 x 47 cm) Frame: 76 x 30 x 6 in.
Inscriptions: Inscribed on open book: "Surgite/mortui/venite/ad judi/cium" [Arise, ye dead, come to judgement]
Collections: European Art
Museum Location: This item is on view in Beaux-Arts Court, East, 3rd Floor
Accession Number: 21.138
Credit Line: Bequest of A. Augustus Healy
Image: Overall, 21.138.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph