In this masterpiece, painted in an astonishingly free style, nature seems to partake of the penitent saint’s torment. Several other elements, in addition to the books and to the meekly sleeping lion, have been interpreted as relating to St. Jerome: the lizard alludes to templtation; the snail, which can go without food in its shell for days on end, is akin to the hermit in his cave; the ivy hints at the wood of the Cross; and the skull and hourglass remind us of the passage of time and of death.
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TITLE
Penitent St. Jerome
AUTHOR Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)
DATE 1550 - 5
OBJECT TYPE AND MATERIAL Oil on canvas
DIMENSIONS cm 235 x 125
INVENTORY 81
ROOM IX
Work on display
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