Lot Essay
'A tree study with Saint Jerome thrown in' is how A.M. Hind described this stunning print. It was common in the Northern European tradition to represent the saint with a dead tree and crucifix, an association made more meaningful here by the flowering branch growing directly over the saint as a symbol of regeneration. In the foreground the rushes and water have been drawn in with drypoint. The enclosed bower, which surrounds the Saint, is given seclusion by the addition of high rocks and a waterfall some distance behind. It is a place of rural peace, undisturbed by the noise of humanity.