The penitent Saint Jerome in a landscape

This small, finely detailed panel depicts the penitent Saint Jerome in the wilderness, a theme which became highly sought-after in the early 16th Century. Lucas Cranach I and his workshop in Wittenberg responded to this demand by developing a number of variations on the subject, which were used for both paintings and woodcuts. The present painting does not directly follow any extant model, but faithfully follows the workshop’s successful formula. In a densely wooded and mountainous landscape, the hermit saint kneels in repentance before the crucified Christ, accompanied by the lion from whose paw, according to legend, he had removed a thorn. Dr Michael Hofbauer has proposed that the present composition is an early invention from the workshop, and identifies various motifs that were regularly employed circa 1515, such as the rhombus pattern on the pages of the saint’s book.

While an attribution to Lucas Cranach I or II can be ruled out, Prof. Dr. Gunnar Heydenreich notes a number of similarities with the work of Hans Kemmer (c.1495-1561), who worked in the Cranach workshop between circa 1515 and 1521 before returning to his birthplace of Lübeck, where he continued to follow his master's example in style and subject.

We are grateful to Dr Michael Hofbauer and Prof. Dr. Gunnar Heydenreich for their thoughts on the painting.