St. Jerome

Annibale portrays St. Jerome amidst his three-year fast in the desert. His eyes gaze upward as he experiences visions of angels flying above him. His hand grips a stone with which he beats his chest in order to quell his temptations. After his fast, Jerome produced the first complete Latin translation of the Bible and became a doctor of the church. His work earned him the red cardinal’s robe that can be seen on his shoulders.

Stylistically this painting bears similarities with Annibale’s masterpiece, the fresco cycle painted during the 1590s in the Farnese Palace in Rome. This painting of St. Jerome is first recorded in the palace, and it dates from the same period. The work’s small dimensions and pious subject matter suggest that a member of the Farnese entourage commissioned it for private devotion.