Boetvaardige Heilige Hiëronymus 1511 - 1520

Albrecht Dürer rendered this woodcut, *Boetvaardige Heilige Hiëronymus*, capturing Saint Jerome in a moment of profound reflection. Radiant light frames his head, symbolizing divine illumination and the wisdom he gleaned from scripture. Jerome, a scholar and translator of the Bible, is often depicted with a lion, a symbol of his mastery over primal instincts. This motif echoes the ancient myth of Androcles, where a slave earns a lion's loyalty by removing a thorn from its paw. We see this symbol appearing through the ages, even earlier in ancient Egypt, as Sekhmet, a powerful deity of healing and protection, was depicted with the head of a lioness. Here, Dürer masterfully portrays Jerome's penitence, his hand clutching a stone to his chest. This gesture reveals an inner turmoil as if the weight of the stone mirrors the burden of his spiritual quest. The composition subtly engages with our collective subconscious, stirring primal associations with transformation and inner strength, leaving us to reflect on our own paths toward self-discovery.