17th-c. Italian oil painting of St. Jerome hearing the trumpet of the Last Judgment.
Artwork Details
Medium
Oil
Made/Created
Time Period
17th Century
Dimensions
Dimension Description
Canvas
Height
39-3/4 in
Width
56-1/2 in
Dimension Description
Frame
Height
47 in
Width
63-1/2 in
Interpretative Labels
Label
St. Jerome is one of the four Doctors of the Church and the patron saint of scholars and librarians. His 4th-c. translation of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin came to be called the Vulgate, the official text of the Catholic Church. In this composition, Jerome is startled by his vision of an angel’s trumpet heralding the Last Judgment. He wears a red cloth signaling his role as a cardinal of the Church. In the lower right sits a skull, one of his attributes and a reminder of the transience of life. James Ryder, S.J., the second president of Saint Joseph’s College, bought this painting in Rome in 1830.
