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Saint Jerome in Penitence, in a Cave
Albrecht Altdorfer (German, c.1480-1538)
1500/38
- Medium
- Wood engraving in black on cream laid paper
- Classification
- Dimensions
- Image/block/sheet: 16.8 × 12 cm (6 5/8 × 4 3/4 in.)
- Culture
- Germany
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Prints and Drawings
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Potter Palmer
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Albrecht Altdorfer’s sophisticated handling of woodcutting tools allows this relief image to appear almost three- dimensional. The shadows of the cave around the hermit Saint Jerome open gradually into ever-darker passages and spartan living quarters beyond. The saint, his protective lion companion, and the makeshift altar become the focal points for the light emanating from the entry to the cave on the right. Like Jerome, the viewer is situated in a literally and spiritually dark space within the tomb-like cavern.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
