The anonymous artist of the painting St. Jerome in Penitence portrays a brief story about the life and beliefs of St. Jerome. The artist uses St. Jerome as the primary focus in the painting; however, several other scenes are used as “contrast” to exemplify the importance of St. Jerome’s beliefs.  St. Jerome was born around 340a.d. in what is today Yugoslavia.  He is well known for translating the bible into Latin. St. Jerome defended chastity and preached to people to live pure lives.  St. Jerome is probably most known for his belief in living a monastic lifestyle, which he himself did for several years in the Syrian Desert. In the painting St. Jerome in Penitence, the artist establishes a contrast between St. Jerome’s belief in living a monastic life and worldly life.
     The artist portrays St. Jerome as the main character in this painting.  St. Jerome is painted in the middle of the painting, which emphasizes the importance of the character to the onlooker.  St. Jerome is the largest character in the painting, which enables viewers to draw St. Jerome out from the rest of the painting.  The artist uses these two elements to draw attention to St. Jerome and to set up a contrast between him and the rest of the painting.
     The contrast that the artist sets up in this painting is the contrast between monastic and worldly life.  The painting pictures St. Jerome by himself with several other scenes around him of people socializing, hunting, and jousting.  St. Jerome is used to symbolize monastic life, which may be perceived through various elements in the painting.  St. Jerome is shown in the painting walking by himself away from the other people in the painting.  Significantly, St Jerome is walking towards a tree with a crucifix of Jesus Christ hanging at the top.  The artist uses this image to show the symbolism of St. Jerome turning his back on society or worldly life and walking towards a monastic life with Christ.  The crucifix of Jesus Christ high up in the tree is symbolic of heaven and that of Christ looking down or watching over St. Jerome and all of us.
     The artist’s style and use of color are two other elements used to portray the purpose of the artist in this painting.  The artist provides a unique difference in the dress of St. Jerome and the other characters in the painting.  St. Jerome is dressed in a very simplistic manner in which he is wearing a one-piece gray cloak with no shoes on.  The simplicity of his dress exemplifies the simplicity in his life.  The other scenes of the painting picture people of high social status dressed in suits that have an array of bright colors in them.  In one particular scene, the horses are decorated with gold chains and bright cloaks.  The artist’s use of style and color portrays the differences in lifestyles and living between St. Jerome and the others.
 The time span between the completion of the painting and the days when St. Jerome lived, cover a period of almost 1200 years.  The painting St. Jerome in Penitence was painted around 1515, however St. Jerome had died before 420a.d. Interestingly, the artist places St. Jerome at the present time in which the artist himself lived.  Examples of these are shown in the pictures of a castle and knights in the background.  These images help date the painting and suggest that it was likely painted during the Middle Ages.  The artist’s motivation for this is possibly to help the onlooker relate better to the painting, or it could be to show how much had changed from the times that St. Jerome lived in and the present time when it was painted.
     The painting St. Jerome in Penitence is a beautiful work of art that compares worldly life and monastic life.  The artist does this by using St. Jerome who stands for a monastic lifestyle as the main character in the painting.  The other scenes in the painting are used to represent worldly life and set up a contrast between St. Jerome and the other scenes around him.  Other techniques such as color and size are used to show the simplicity of St. Jerome compared to the decorative and colorful characteristics of the other characters.  Ultimately the artist uses symbolism to show St. Jerome walking away from the sins and worries of worldly life and toward a life with Jesus Christ.
 

Works Cited
Saltet, Louis. "The Catholic Encycolpedia." St. Jerome April 1997.  Find at
 http://www.knight.org/advent/cathen/08341a.html
 
 

I.  Introduction to the Renaissance
The Renaissance is characterized as a "series of literary and cultural movements in the 14th,15th, and 16th centuries."  The Renaissance movements began in Italy, but eventually spread out across Germany, France, England, and other parts of Europe.  The word "renaissance" means "rebirth."  It was named this because many scholars believed that the Europeans had rediscovered the greatness of Greek and Roman culture after centuries of intellectual and cultural decline.  The Renaissance is marked by an interest in the visible world, and in the knowledge that is obtainable within our senses.  The Renaissance turned away from the elements of abstract speculations and interest in life after death that marked the Middle Ages.  Christianity was not abandoned during the Renaissance, but the ideas of otherworldliness and monastic ideology were largely discarded.  The main focus during the Renaissance changed from abstract beliefs of religious issues to the individualism and morality of human life.
II. Renaissance Artists
During the Renaissance artists were no longer regarded as mere artists, as they had been in the medieval past.  Artists were looked upon with high stature and for the first time they were placed into the social class that was comparable to poets and writers.  The artists of the Renaissance were more diverse than the artists of the Middle Ages.  It was the task of Renaissance painters to portray "a window to the world in each and every painting surface."  Painters of this period devoted more time to landscapes and backgrounds than in previous periods.  Examples of this are apparent in the painting St. Jerome in Penitence, where the artist provides a wonderful scene in a forest that displays an array of foliage.
 Renaissance painters are known for their historic and narrative paintings because all of them tell a story.  "Renaissance painters achieved the greatest latitude with the history, or narrative, picture, in which figures located within a landscape or and architectural environment act out a specific story, taken either from classical mythology or Judeo-Christian tradition" (Microsoft Encyclopedia).  Several of these characteristics can be seen in the above described painting, St. Jerome in Penitence.  In analyzing this specific painting one can see the similarities between it and traditional Renaissance art.  The anonymous artist of St. Jerome in Penitence, paints beautiful landscapes that have very defined details to them.  The delicate painting of landscapes was an important characteristic of Renaissance art.  St. Jerome in Penitence tells a story of St. Jerome's belief in living a monastic lifestyle.  This is important because the painting not only tells a story but also has a Christian dimension, both of these are also characteristics of Renaissance art.
III. Individualism and Humanism
 Individualism and humanism are two beliefs that were brought about during the Renaissance.  Renaissance humanists believed that human society could be improved through classical education.  Classical education dealt with a variety if disciplines such as: poetry, history, philosophy, and teachings from ancient texts.  Individualism had a different affect on the Renaissance.  During the Renaissance unique talents and potential of the individual became very important in everyday life.  The concept of personal fame took a new role and was much more important than it had been during the Middle Ages.  There is quite a difference in the motivation and attitudes between Renaissance artists and Medieval artists.  Medieval artists were focused on glorifying God and others above themselves.  In general, Medieval artists were more humble, which explains why a large number of Medieval paintings remain anonymous.  On the contrary Renaissance artists valued glory and fame and during this period artists began to sign their work.  The painting, St. Jerome in Penitence, was completed around 1515, which is during the middle of the Renaissance period.  There was no signature on this painting and it is not known who the original artist is, therefore this contradicts what was stated above about Renaissance artwork.  St. Jerome in Penitence, also portrays the belief in a monastic lifestyle, which is characteristic of Middle Age art, not Renaissance art.  Explanations for this are only hypothetical, but it could be that the artists disagreed with certain beliefs of the Renaissance Period.  It could be that the artist disagreed with the individualism that marks the Renaissance Period, and therefore, he paints a Christian painting that portrays a  monastic lifestyle, and when it's finished leaves it unsigned.
 

Works Cited
"Renaissance Art and Architecture."Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99.
    1993-1998 Microsoft Corporation
 
 

Note: This web page is a project for an English 12 class at UNC Chapel-Hill special premission has been given by the Ackland Art Museum to post paintings and to provide links to the museum.  However, this page by no means expresses the views or interpretations of those at the Ackland Art Museum.