Pittore ignoto | 1580-99

Currently on display: Palazzo Farnese Civic Museums, Art Gallery

The Golden Legend contains often legendary accounts of the lives of the saints. Jerome of Stridon is one such figure. It is said that he encountered a lion wounded by a thorn in its paw, and that this lion (a symbol of the desert) allowed Jerome to tend to its wound. The legend goes on to say that the lion became Jerome’s pet, which has led to numerous depictions of Jerome in the company of a lion. The saint, regarded as a Doctor of the Church, is depicted wearing a purple cloak in reference to his role as secretary to Pope Damasus I. He is kneeling in prayer, holding a stone as a sign of penance. 

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