Saint Jerome

The composition is based on Albrecht Dýrer's picture of Saint Jerome, painted in Antwerp in 1521 for Ruy Fernández de Almeida, Ambassador to King John III of Portugal, now in the Museu Nacional de Arta Antigua, Lisbon. Judging from the numerous copies and versions that exist, most notably those by Quentin Matsys and Joos van Cleve and their studios, the picture was popular. M.J. Friedländer explains it's popularity in Early Netherlandish Painting, 1972, IXa, p.31: 'On the eve of the struggles of the Reformation, the learned, brooding searcher after God (=Saint Jerome) represented an appropiate ideal; and the picture by (Dýrer), who was regarded with awe, carries a sense of austere gravity and scruple that comes through even in the most indifferent imitations.' Joos van Cleve's autograph variant was sold at Christie's London, 3 December 1997, lot 46, ill. The present picture is notable among the numerous versions for the high quality of the still life and the landscape.