St. Jerome and the Trumpet of Doom 1637

Jusepe de Ribera, a leading painter of the Spanish Baroque, created "St. Jerome and the Trumpet of Doom," reflecting the period’s preoccupation with mortality and religious intensity. Ribera, working in Naples, then under Spanish rule, painted in a style characterized by dramatic realism and tenebrism, which is a style of painting using profoundly pronounced light and dark contrasts. Jerome, traditionally depicted as a scholar, is shown here as an aged, almost emaciated figure, startled by the sound of the “trumpet of doom.” His body, draped in a red cloth, is a study in the effects of age and asceticism. Ribera’s stark portrayal strips away any romanticism, presenting a raw, unflinching look at aging and the anticipation of divine judgment. The skull and the open scroll serve as reminders of mortality and the written word’s power to both reveal and conceal truth. The painting invites us to confront our own anxieties about death, and how we, like Jerome, will be judged.