Saint Jerome in the Wilderness, 1483 (Unfinished)

By Leonardo da Vinci

An unfinished painting by Leonardo da Vinci, 1480-1481.

o One of the last pictures that he made in Florence before he moved to
Milan.
Now held in the Vatican Museum in Rome, Italy.

WHO IS ST. JEROME?

St. Jerome was born in Stridon in Dalmatia, which is now modern day
Yugoslavia in 342 C.E.
o He is the Patron Saint of Librarians and his feast day is September 30 th.
Before dedicating his life to protecting the word of God, St. Jerome was a
privileged and extremely scholarly man who was most like trained to be an
orator--- also known as a lawyer, but then pledged his life to God three years
after beginning baptized in 360.
o After dedicating his life to God, he traveled the world and studied,
translated and rewrote the Old Testament from Hebrew to Latin.
His translation of the Bible is known as the Vulgate, which was
an accepted version of the Bible, but was corrected by the
Council of Trent then authenticated.
St. Jerome was fluent in four languages, including Latin,
Greek, Chaldaic and Hebrew which he learned in order to
translate the Bible and study the word of God.
o St. Jerome also fiercely defended the teachings of the Bible and would
sharply and relentlessly correct those misusing the word of God often
through writing.
He was also an advisor to monks, bishops and the pope.
In his travels, St. Jerome spent a lot of time in Palestine and visited all of the
places that Christ went to in his life.
o He eventually lived out his days in a cave in Bethlehem, which was
believed to be the actual birth place of Christ, and St. Jerome died on
September 30, 420 CE.
St. Jerome was also known for his fiery temper and his intensity.
o He intensely loved God and Jesus and defended God with the same
amount of passion in his writings.
o He was also known to occasionally give in to temptation, but would
fervently repent for forgiveness through prayer, studying, fasting,
isolation and even flagellation.
In order to dedicate himself to atoning for his sins, praying and
studying he spent five years in alone desert in modern day
Syria--- which is where Leonardo da Vinci chooses to portray St.
Jerome.

WHY DID LEONARDO PAINT ST. JEROME IN

THE WILDERNESS?

Many famous works before Leonardo Da Vincis St. Jerome, such as Italian
Renaissance artist Antonello de Messinas St. Jerome in His Study, show St.
Jerome as a poised and well-dressed scholar.

They dont reveal much about St. Jeromes intense personality,

extreme sense of repentance, his abandonment of comfortable living.

Leonardo choses to portray St. Jerome in the act of repentance by striking

himself in to chest with a rock, gaunt with fasting, in tattered robes,
determined and looking longingly to the unfinished corner where a light
sketch of a church is visible.
o The focus is not his scholarliness at all, but his repentance, humility,
strength and devotion to God.
Leonardo was known to question the Church and was not very
devote. Also, he was known to experience periods of depression.
Both of these qualities of Leonardo are thought to be some
reasons behind his melancholy representation of St. Jerome that
idealizes his humanly strength of character.

Overall, Leonardos portrayal of St. Jerome compared to his predecessors and

contemporaries reveals an intense aspect of this saints life that was not
captured and focuses on his humanness, humility, devotion to God, extreme
sense of remorse and his incredible strength of his character rather than his
scholarliness.

WHAT DOES THIS PIECE REVEAL ABOUT

LEONARDO?
Although this painting is unfinished and we can never know Leonardos
complete vision for this work, it is reveals some of his thinking behind this
painting.
o Besides his thinking, it is reminder that Leonardo was a man who was
always creating, experimenting and studying which caused him to
leave some of his work unfinished.
By analyzing what the Leonardo complete so far in this painting, we can see
how he uses symbolism and composition to create themes of both religious
devotion, repentance and strength in St. Jerome in the Wilderness.
o For instance, through the dominance of the rock formations of
background of the piece and the rock in the figures hand creates a
comparison between rock and St. Jerome. Rock in this case, is used as
a symbol of devotion and strength.
o The inclusion of a lion in this scene plus its agape expression adds
more astonishment to the extreme actions of repentance of St. Jerome.
Thus, the lion itself and what we can see of its expression enhances
the theme of strength in this work.
o Although it is hard to see, Jeromes gaze is directed towards the
unfished corner of the work where there is a faint sketch of a church.
The addition of a church bolsters the theme of devotion and
repentance, but there is a diagonal line that is also created from St.
Jeromes position that connects the rock in his hand to the church
which then connects the theme of religious devotion and strength.

Also, because Jeromes figure is left largely exposed so the musculature is

forever exposed shows Leonardos passion for studying anatomy and
capturing the human body in a believable manner.

Sources
http://www.leonardoda-vinci.org/St-Jerome-c.-1480.html
http://www.lairweb.org.nz/leonardo/jerome.html
http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1154
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=10
Adams, Laurie. Italian Renaissance Art. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press, 2001. Print.