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St. Jerome in his Study

1514

Albrecht Dürer

By permission of Art Resource, New York, NY

Both on account of their motivic contrasts and close proximity in time, Dürer’s three most famous engravings (1513-1514) are often jointly discussed. Yet whereas both “Knight, Death, and Devil” (1513) and “Melancholia I” (1514) depict metaphysical extremes and gloom, the dominant mood pervading the engraving of “St. Jerome in his Study” is one of serenity and balance. Dürer was “especially fond of St. Jerome, who appears more frequently in his work than any other saint. The date on this print, 1514, coincides with the year of publication of the translation into German of St. Jerome’s biography by Dürer’s friend Lazarus Spengler. The subject of a seated saint writing at a desk seems straightforward in comparison to the complex subjects of Dürer’s two other master engravings, but the originality of the image lies in the evocative atmosphere and detailed interior. In an unusual step for his compositions Dürer relegated the figure to the background and the setting takes over as the main subject of the print.” (Quoted in Giulia Bartrum, Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy [Princeton: Princeton UP, 2002], pp. 189).

For a more detailed commentary, see Erwin Panofsky, Albrecht Dürer, 8th ed. [Princeton: Princeton UP., 1995], pp. 154-56.