Where to See St. Jerome by Juan de Valdés Leal

Juan de Valdés Leal rendered this intense image of St. Jerome, the Church Father who translated the Bible into Latin. The saint appears as an aged penitent in the wilderness, his weathered flesh and ecstatic expression conveying fervent devotion. Valdés Leal's vigorous brushwork heightens the emotional intensity.

Valdés Leal was a leading Baroque painter in Seville, known for dramatic religious subjects. His St. Jerome reflects Spanish Counter-Reformation piety with its emphasis on penitential suffering. Now at the Museo del Prado in Madrid.

This painting is at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain. The Prado has the world's greatest collection of Spanish painting, including major works by Velázquez, Goya, and Baroque masters.

St. Jerome (c. 342-420) was a Church Father who translated the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate). He's often shown as a penitent hermit with a lion, skull, and books. Valdés Leal emphasizes his ascetic devotion.

Valdés Leal painted with expressive, almost violent brushwork and dramatic lighting. His religious subjects emphasize suffering and mortality, reflecting Spanish Counter-Reformation spirituality.

St. Jerome

Where to See It

The Artist

Cite or Embed This Work

More by Juan de Valdés Leal

Carrying the Cross

Virgin of the Immaculate Conception with Sts Andrew and John the Baptist

Ecce Homo

The imaculate conception

Also at Museo del Prado, Madrid

Descent from the Cross

Artemisia

Adam and Eve

A Soldier

The Conversion and Baptism of St. Augustine by St. Ambrose

Miracle of St. Ildefonsus

Fray Pedro Fernández Pecha

Saint Jerome Writing

The Calling of Saint Matthew

St. Jerome kneeling in prayer, looking down

St. Jerome reading

Judith Beheading Holofernes

Judith Slaying Holofernes

Las Meninas

The Surrender of Breda

The Feast of Saint Nicholas

About St. Jerome

Own Art Like This