Lorenzo Lotto
Italian painter, ca. 1480-1556
Saint Jerome Penitent
1515
Oil on canvas
15 1/2 x 12 5/8 inches (39.37 x 32 centimeters)
Samuel H. Kress Collection
1960.027.000 KB

Lorenzo Lotto painted six versions of this subject, Saint Jerome in the wilderness. Here the scholar-saint has put aside his cardinal's robe and hat, and is about to mortify his flesh with a stone, in penance for his sins. Scenes depicting Jerome's spiritual journey appear in small vignettes in the painting. His long toenails and the scorpion in the foreground remind viewers that the saint has removed himself from society. The lion in the lower left corner recalls the story of Jerome pulling thorns (symbolizing sin) from the paw of a wild lion, which became his companion.