St. Jerome penitente 1652

Jusepe de Ribera painted Saint Jerome, sometime in the 17th century, using oil on canvas. Here, Jerome’s gaunt figure, with the stone, is not merely a representation of Christian asceticism, but a symbol laden with cross-cultural echoes. Observe how the act of penance, signified by the stone, re-emerges throughout the ages, from ancient rituals of atonement to modern expressions of grief and self-discipline. Think of the flagellants, their self-inflicted pain a bridge to the divine; a similar impulse appears in other epochs, each bearing the weight of collective guilt. This stone, then, becomes a transhistorical object, morphing in shape, yet eternally resonant. The emotional intensity of the image also invites us to consider how collective memory and the deep-seated human need for expiation intertwine. Thus, the motif resurfaces, evolves, and finds new meanings in different historical contexts.