H. Hieronymus, schrijvend in een boek dat hij boven een schedel houdt 1601 - 1652

This drawing of Saint Jerome writing, with charcoal on paper, was created by Jusepe de Ribera, an important figure in the European Baroque. Ribera, who spent much of his career in Spanish-controlled Naples, was deeply influenced by the naturalism of Caravaggio and the Spanish interest in portraying religious figures. His Saint Jerome is not idealized; we see an aged man, deeply contemplative, and physically worn. The skull is a vanitas symbol reminding us of death's presence in life, and the inevitability of mortality. The piece resonates with the complex intersection of religious fervor and human suffering that was so central to the Counter-Reformation. Ribera draws us into Jerome's world, asking us to reflect on our own place in the cosmic order.