St. Hieronymus

The saint sits at the very front edge of the picture but is bent, as if his monumental figure would otherwise find no room. Like this exaggerated use of form and perspective, the contrast between the dimly lit if still powerfully modelled figure and the dark landscape sketched with few brushstrokes also serves to emphasise the penitent Hieronymus with his attributes: the bible he translated himself, the cardinal’s robes and the tamed lion.