Saint Jerome c. 1610 - 1614

El Greco painted this oil on canvas depicting Saint Jerome, a key figure in the Catholic Church, sometime between 1605 and 1614. In a radical departure from traditional representations of the saint, El Greco strips Jerome bare, both physically and metaphorically. We see an emaciated figure, a body ravaged by time and spiritual exertion, kneeling in the wilderness with only a cloth covering his genitals. Stripped of his cardinal's robes, Jerome embodies vulnerability and humility. His gaunt frame confronts viewers with the stark reality of human frailty and the sacrifices demanded by faith. El Greco’s personal experiences as an outsider – a Greek artist working in Spain – may have influenced this portrayal of Jerome. Perhaps, through Jerome, El Greco was expressing his own sense of alienation and spiritual yearning. In the end, the artwork urges us to consider the cost of devotion and the complex relationship between the body, the spirit, and the world.