Saint Jerome Writing
by Caravaggio, 1606
Artwork Details
Details
- Year
- 1606
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 112 cm × 157 cm (44 × 62 in)
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Caravaggio painted this Saint Jerome Writing around 1606 for Cardinal Scipione Borghese, one of several works he created for this powerful patron. The elderly saint sits at a rough table, dipping his pen to translate the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate). A skull rests beside him as reminder of mortality.
The composition's stark simplicity focuses attention on Jerome's face and hands. Light falls dramatically from the upper left, typical of Caravaggio's tenebrism. Jerome wears only a red cloak, his body emaciated by desert asceticism. Caravaggio painted this while fleeing Rome after killing a man in a brawl. The painting reached Cardinal Borghese nonetheless. It hangs in the Borghese Gallery.
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About Saint Jerome Writing
Jerome is translating the Bible into Latin, creating what became known as the Vulgate. His translation remained the Catholic Church's official Bible for over a thousand years.
The skull is a memento mori, reminding viewers of death's inevitability. Saints often meditated on skulls as spiritual practice. It also references Jerome's years as a desert hermit.
Caravaggio painted it around 1606, shortly after fleeing Rome for killing Ranuccio Tomassoni in a fight. He continued working despite being a fugitive.
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