1496 Engraving, 324 x 228 mm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York The stone in the saint's right hand serves to strike his chest. In this engraving too Italian influence is manifest. The scenery in the background, however, is based on sketches of quarries in the vicinity of Nuremberg). There is a certain lack of cohesion between the various parts of this unusually large plate. St Jerome, one of the most learned Fathers of the Church and author of the Vulgate, was born in 331 or 342 in Dalmatia of a well-to-do family. He died in 420. He was one of the favourite saints of D?rer's time, but, curiously, Martin Luther was less than fond of him. "I know of no one among the teachers whom I bear as much enmity as St Jerome, for he speaks only of fasting, virginity, etc."Artist:D?RER, Albrecht Title: St Jerome Penitent in the Wilderness Painted in 1501-1550 , German - - graphics : religious |