# Saint Jerome in Penitence

- By: Master of the Lille Adoration (Netherlandish, active about 1520–40)
- Date: 1525–30
- Medium: Oil on panel
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: 34.2 × 25.3 cm (13 1/2 × 10 in.)
- Culture: Netherlands
- Credit line: Gift of Suzette and Eugene Davidson
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/236975)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/web/6a4ba393ed39199b2cf5bf5f53938443.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Saint Jerome, known for translating the Bible into Latin, was a popular subject for paintings in the Renaissance, a period of renewed interest in secular and religious learning. Artists typically depicted him as a scholar in his study or as an ascetic in the wilderness, but this portrait-like image combines both themes. The books before him on the desk suggest his learned character, while the crucifix and skull he contemplates as he beats his breast with a rock evoke his hermetic activities. The saint displays the nervous, exaggerated gestures often found in work by this artist, known as the Master of the Lille Adoration.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0