St. Jerome Reading in an Italian Landscape

Paper itself is transformed into the light that streams across the lower left of this print, illuminating the figure of St. Jerome absorbed in reading. Around the figure of the Christian saint, Rembrandt van Rijn’s inventive facility in printmaking is on display. Dark, velvety drypoint lines represent the mane of the lion, Jerome’s companion. These marks contrast with the tremendous variety of etched patterns that describe a natural and built landscape inspired by the work of 16th-century Venetian artists. Rembrandt engaged with a long history of representing St. Jerome in European art but only indirectly alluded to his fame as the first translator of the Bible into Latin. Instead, Jerome sits here as a model of the peace promised by a contemplative life.