Saint Jerome
1762-1763
Medium
etching on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 12.6 × 14.9 cm (4 15/16 × 5 7/8 in.) sheet: 16.2 × 18 cm (6 3/8 × 7 1/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
2014.81.1
Art Historical Context
In the refined elegance of mid-18th-century French, Jean-Jacques Lagrenée II's *Saint Jerome* (1762–1763) captures the contemplative spirit of the early Christian scholar and Doctor of the Church. Lagrenée, a prominent Rococo artist from a distinguished family of painters and engravers, often depicted religious subjects with graceful lines and subtle emotional depth, bridging the ornate Rococo style with emerging Neoclassical restraint. Saint Jerome, traditionally shown in scholarly penance amid a skull, books, and lion, here embodies quiet devotion, inviting viewers to reflect on themes of re...