Title
St Jerome
Year
16th C.
Artist
Technique
Oil on panel
Dimensions
48 x 38 cm
Object number
SK-A-3903
By the light of a flickering candle an old man sits reading in his study holding a skull in his hand. It is St Jerome. He is looking at the skull, from which he draws inspiration in his contemplation of death. The candle is a symbol of transience. A flame can die at any moment. Just as a life can suddenly end. That's why a candle is often used to symbolize the transience of human existance, the ultimate certainty of death, as well as the mirror. A mirror is a symbol of vanity: it reflects only the outer form. It is the outer form that eventually decays. This was a conventional pose for a meditating saint, especially for saints who were also hermits. Indeed, St Jerome was just such a hermit. This painting is attributed to Aertgen van Leyden, a sixteenth-century painter from Leiden. Do you enjoy reading about the life of St. Jerome? |
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