St. Jerome
Author: Belchior da Fonseca
Origin: Coimbra, Portugal
Dating: 1583
Material: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions (cm): 58 x 91,5
Inv. no.: MNMC2634 / PD1140
Saint Jerome (340/347 AD – 420 AD) was born Eusebius Hieronymus Sophronius, in Stridon, Dalmatia (present-day Croatia).
He descended of a wealthy, cultured, Christian family; enjoying an adventurous youth before going to Rome – to study the Classics and the art of rhetoric – and then travelled Gaul and Germany. He was fluent in Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
Around 365 AD, he was baptized by Pope Liberius. Later, he went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, retiring to the desert of Syria, where he lived as a hermit.
In 373 AD, on his way to Antioch (in present-day Turkey), according to legend, he removed a thorn from the paw of a lion – an animal that is said to have become his faithful companion.
After returning to Rome, he became a collaborator of Pope Damasus I, receiving the assigment of translating the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. The final collection of his translation became known as the “Vulgate” – the official biblical text, approved by the of the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent.
Around 386 AD, Saint Jerome left Rome and went to live permanently in Bethlehem, where he remained as a penitent monk and scholar, continuing the biblical translations until his death.
Saint Jerome was around 80 when he died from natural causes and was buried under the Church of the Nativity (Bethlehem). Later, his relics were transferred to Santa Maria Maggiore, in Rome.
Traditionally, Saint Jerome is depicted in the desert or in his study, accompanied by a lion, often wearing red cardinal’s robes and hat, typically writing; sometimes he is also depicted with a white beard, with a skull and a cross, with a trumpet or with a stone.
He is the patron saint of all those who dedicate themselves to the study of the Bible, translators, archaeologists, archivists, librarians and students.
