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Saint Jerome as a Penitent
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) Greek
Not on view
Paintings of the penitent Saint Jerome flourished from about 1400 onward and were preferred by Counter-Reformation writers during El Greco’s lifetime. In this picture—one of the artist’s most expressive treatments of the subject—the red hat and robe, the books, and the symbols of death and salvation summarize the saint’s exemplary life.
As a young man, Jerome (ca. 347–420) was devoted to classical literature and the sensual pleasures of Rome. He later retreated to the Syrian dessert for a life of study and self-denial, translating the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate).
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