St Jerome in his study

Albrecht Dürer
Germany
1471 – 1528

St Jerome in his study
1514
engraving on paper
Place made
Nuremberg, Germany
Medium
engraving on paper
Dimensions
24.5 x 18.8 cm (plate & sheet)
24.1 x 18.5 cm (bord.)
Credit line
Morgan Thomas Bequest Fund 1962
Accession number
627G46
Signature and date
Signed and dated in plate l.r. "1515 / AD" the initials in monogram.
Provenance
Lionel Lindsay (b.1874-d.1961), Sydney, acquired 1943; purchased by the Gallery from Peter Lindsay, Sydney.
Catalogue raisonne
B.60; M.59; Holl/G 59; S.E.77; TIB v.10, p.138, .060(d)
Media category
Print
Collection area
European prints

  • St Jerome was one of the most popular saints during the Renaissance in Europe. In this fine engraving, the peaceful ambience of the light-bathed modest interior mirrors the outlook of the saint himself. Positioned towards the rear of the room, the small hunched figure of St Jerome, engrossed in his writing, exudes humility and quiet contentedness.

     

    A sleepy lion, St Jerome’s faithful companion, and a dog rest near the entrance to the room. Other objects traditionally associated with St Jerome are distributed around the room, several of which are reminders of death.

     

    Dürer’s St Jerome in his study, 1514, is displayed alongside his engraving Melencolia I, created in the same year. It is believed that these two works are thematically linked, providing a contrast between sacred and secular learning respectively, or ’the peaceful bliss of divine wisdom, [as opposed] to the tragic unrest of human creation’.

     

    Julie Robinson, Senior Curator, Prints, Drawings & Photographs

     

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