NARRATOR:
The years of fasting and penance have taken their toll. His ribs protrude, skin hangs from his neck. But Saint Jerome’s spirit is still vigorous. Gazing at the crucifix, he seems to experience intense joy.
With extraordinary economy, the 18th-century Spanish master Francisco de Goya evokes the life and character of this early Christian saint and ascetic. Jerome is shown in the desert cave where he spent the last 30 years of his life in study and prayer. Nothing grows on the barren rocks. Notice how the line of the large rock flows into the outline of the saint’s head and back, as if they were both made of the same hard substance.
The open books and pens allude to the saint’s crowning achievement—his translation of the Hebrew bible into Latin, still used today by the Catholic Church. The stone in his right hand and the knotted rope at his knee refer to his often extravagant acts of self-mortification. Goya’s generally somber palette also evokes the austerity of the saint’s harsh life. But the red cloth around his waist reflects his passion.
It’s tempting to think that Goya, in his way just as rigorous and uncompromising as Jerome, found him an especially sympathetic subject. By restricting his palette, the artist often called attention to the subtle nuances of a single color. The thick, boldly applied layers of paint suggest St. Jerome’s forceful character. But they also remind us of Goya’s famous dictum: “I see no lines or details. There is no reason why my brush should see more than I do.”
Saint Jerome in Penitence
1798
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746-1828)
On View
An early Christian scholar, St. Jerome produced the first Latin translation of the Bible. He lived the life of an ascetic for four years in the desert while studying and praying to free himself from worldly desire. Emaciated and scantily clad, here he contemplates a crucifix in his harsh wilderness retreat. Around him lie his books and writing materials, as well as the scourge used for his repentant self-reproof and a skull (the symbol of death) that served as aids in spiritual contemplation. In his hand he holds the stone with which he beat his breast in penitence.
Goya’s beautifully rendered St. Jerome in Penitence may have originally formed part of a series of the four Fathers of the Church, along with his St. Ambrose (Cleveland Museum of Art), St. Gregory (Museo Romántico, Madrid) and St. Augustine (private collection). However, while all of these paintings are almost identical in size, the intimate depiction of St. Jerome as the fervent anchorite contrasts starkly with the less spontaneous and more classical depiction of the other church fathers in their sumptuous Roman liturgical robes.
Details
- Artist Name: Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746-1828)
- Title: Saint Jerome in Penitence
- Date: 1798
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 75-1/8 x 45 in. (190.8 x 114.3 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1970.08.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
Said to have come from the Jesuit mission, province of Toledo, Spain (possibly San Ildefonso?).
Manuel Vilches, Madrid, by 1917;
Luis Vilches, Madrid, 1923, still in 1957; [Stanley Moss and Co., Inc., New York];
[Schmid & Schmid Aktiengesellschaft für Kunsthandel, Vaduz, Liechtenstein, sold 22 January 1964, to];
[Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York / Galerie des Arts Anciens et Mod- ernes, Schaan, Liechtenstein];
[Spencer A. Samuels and Co., Ltd., New York, by September 1969, when sold to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
Manuel Vilches, Madrid, by 1917;
Luis Vilches, Madrid, 1923, still in 1957; [Stanley Moss and Co., Inc., New York];
[Schmid & Schmid Aktiengesellschaft für Kunsthandel, Vaduz, Liechtenstein, sold 22 January 1964, to];
[Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York / Galerie des Arts Anciens et Mod- ernes, Schaan, Liechtenstein];
[Spencer A. Samuels and Co., Ltd., New York, by September 1969, when sold to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
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