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Landscape with the Penitent Saint Jerome

A work made of oil on panel.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of oil on panel.

Date:

1530–40

Artist:

Antwerp

About this artwork

In the midst of this expansive landscape, a tiny figure of the hermit Saint Jerome beats his breast with a rock in penance for his earlier worldly pursuits as he gazes at a sculpture of Jesus on the cross. In spite of this fervent activity in the foreground, the true subject of this painting is the vast landscape behind the saint. The artist rendered the mountains, valleys, rivers, and villages in successive bands of brown, green, and blue, the typical structure of the independent landscape that first emerged as a genre in this period. The roads that wind through the scene—metaphors for the journey of life—were a popular motif in Flemish painting and likely helped this work appeal to the growing number of art collectors in the booming city of Antwerp, a center of international trade.

Status

On View, Gallery 207

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Title

Landscape with the Penitent Saint Jerome

Place

Belgium (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1530–1540

Medium

Oil on panel

Dimensions

38.1 × 54.5 cm (15 × 21 7/16 in.); Painted surface: 37.9 × 54.3 cm (14 15/16 × 21 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Robert A. Waller Memorial Fund

Reference Number

1953.27

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/111453/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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