Saint Jerome in Penitence, in a Cave
1500/38
Medium
Wood engraving in black on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Image/block/sheet: 16.8 × 12 cm (6 5/8 × 4 3/4 in.)
Classification
wood engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
77846
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Albrecht Altdorfer’s sophisticated handling of woodcutting tools allows this relief image to appear almost three- dimensional. The shadows of the cave around the hermit Saint Jerome open gradually into ever-darker passages and spartan living quarters beyond. The saint, his protective lion companion, and the makeshift altar become the focal points for the light emanating from the entry to the cave on the right. Like Jerome, the viewer is situated in a literally and spiritually dark space within t...
About the Artist
Albrecht Altdorfer · 1475–1538
Albrecht Altdorfer (c. 1480–1538) was a German painter, printmaker, and draftsman who stands as one of the founders of landscape painting as an independent genre. Born in Regensburg or nearby Altdorf, he learned art from his father Ulrich, a painter and miniaturist. Altdorfer spent most of his life in Regensburg, becoming a citizen in 1505 and later serving as the city's official architect and a m...