Something Beautiful

St. Jerome Reading

This painting might initially not look like much but, on closer examination, perhaps you will like it as much as I do.   The rabbits, the plants, the bird at the top.   And good old doughty Jerome, sitting at his book, so fit and alert.   By Giovanni Bellini, 1505, at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.  

P.S.  At first I thought this work was missing St. Jerome's lion, a most regrettable omission.  But look - there he is after all, in the lower right corner.   

St. Jerome in the scriptorium

I love art works that show someone reading or writing.  St. Jerome, one of my favorite saints, is often shown at work in his study.   Just now I stumbled across St. Jerome in the Scriptorium, a work that strikes me as quite wonderful.  It was done c. 1485 by the Master of Parral, an artist previously unknown to me.  It resides at the Museo Lázaro Galdiano, in Madrid, Spain.

 

You can also see this work at the Google Art Project.

 

St. Jerome and the Lion (1)

According to legend, while St. Jerome was fasting in the desert, a lion came to him for help.  The lion had somehow gotten a thorn in his paw, which pained him very much.  The lion asked Jerome for help, and Jerome kindly gave it by removing the thorn.   The lion was grateful and remained with Jerome for the rest of his life. 

One of the most moving paintings of the scene in which the lion implored the saint's help was done by Giovanni Bellini, c. 1450.

St. Jerome and the lion (4)

According to the legend, the lion, from whose paw St. Jerome had removed the thorn, remained with Jerome for the rest of his life. He therefore appears in paintings that depict scenes from Jerome's later life. Here are two paintings that show Jerome returning to his monastery accompanied by the lion. The other clerics are afraid and some of them flee:

St. Jerome and the lion arrive, c. 1480 (?), by Leonardo Bastiani

St. Jerome and the lion arrive, 1502, by Vittorio Carpaccio

Because St. Jerome was a scholar, he is often shown in his study, surrounding by his writing tools and by books. Here again, he is often shown with the lion nearby:

St. Jerome in his study, 1451, by Antonio da Fabriano

St. Jerome in his study, 1525, by Lucas Cranach the Elder

St. Jerome and the lion (3)

Here are some paintings that show just Jerome and the lion. Each being is shown in an act of trust toward the other -- each trusts the other not to hurt him.

St. Jerome removing the thorn, c. 1453, by Lianori (if photo does not appear, click on re-load)

St. Jerome removing the thorn, c. 1450, by Rogier van der Weyden

St. Jerome removing the thorn, c. 1485, by Hans Memling

St. Jerome and the lion (2)

Quite a few artists have portrayed St. Jerome as he actually removes the thorn from the poor lion's paw. 

Two of them depict Jerome's gentle courage as he does so, in contrast to his fellow clerics' fear and panic:

St. Jerome Removing the Thorn, c. 1450, by an unknown Italian master

St. Jerome Removing the Thorn, c. 1452, by Benozzo Gozzoli

 

 

St. Jerome and the lion

It's Lent and so I wanted to find some artworks on a penitential theme.   One possibility would be St. Jerome in the Desert, which a number of artists have painted.  My attention has been temporarily turned away from that subject, however. 

According to legend, while St. Jerome was in the desert, a lion came to him for help.  The lion had somehow gotten a thorn in his paw, which pained him very much.   It would have been logical for St. Jerome to be afraid of the lion.  He overcame his fear, however, in order to help the poor animal by removing the thorn from his paw. 

The scene in which Jerome removes the thorn has been painted quite often.  In looking over those works, I found myself comforted by the sight of such a kind act.   Given the bereavement which my family has recently undergone, I feel that we are much more in need of kindness and comfort than we are of penitence.  (Others may differ!)   I therefore hope to post links to paintings of this scene in the next few days.  

Here are three works in which the lion holds out the injured paw, imploring Jerome for help.  Some artists place this scene in the saint's study while others, in keeping with the legend, set it in the desert:

St. Jerome in His Study, c. 1420, by Lorenzo Monaco;

St. Jerome in the Desert, c. 1450, by Giovanni Bellini

St. Jerome in His Study, c. 1483, by Michael Pacher