Saint Jerome as a Monk

The ‘St. Jerome as Monk’ from the Rockox House is the only work that we have here from Rockox’s original collection. Jerome was one of the four Latin Fathers of the Church. He is depicted on this panel as scholar studying in his cell. He retired to Bethlehem, where he translated the Old Testament from Hebrew to Latin and revised the Latin translation of the New Testament. He was chosen as the patron saint of humanism, as he was regarded as a symbol of contemplation. The window commands a view of Bethlehem, albeit that this Eastern town is represented in an Early Gothic, Flemish architectural style. The two camels in the foreground strike the only exotic note.