In my youth (I was born in 1971), there used to hang reproductions in Dutch trains, showing highlights from Dutch museums. My personal favorite was this strange painting: I could stare at the remarkable meager man with his strange hands for hours. All those objects in the man’s small room fascinated me as well: the old books, the candle, the giant red hat and, of course, the (somewhat frightening) skull. Brought up without any religious, let alone catholic, education, I had no idea who this person could be.
Many years later, when I studied art and literature, I learned that the painting depicted Saint Jerome in his study, and that these curious objects were just attributes that referred to his life and status. Jerome (ca. 347–420) was one of the four Church Fathers. He is especially famous for translating the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. His translation, known as the Vulgate, would become the official Latin version of the Holy Script in the Roman Catholic Church. It is for this enormous achievement and the innumerable other works he wrote, that Jerome is often shown while studying. The headdress on the wall behind him is a cardinal’s hat and refers to his authority in the Church. The so-called Vanitas symbols in this painting, like the crucifix, skull, blown out candle and the scene of the Last Judgment, all refer to the saint’s devout and ascetic life.
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