Albrecht Dürer

Galerie Rumbler, Frankfurt

Acquired from the above by the late Dr. Gardemann, thence by descent

Bartsch 60; Meder, Hollstein 59

‘In this work Albrecht represented a room with windows of glass, through which stream the rays of the sun, falling on the place where the Saint sits writing, with an effect so natural, that it is a marvel; besides which there are books, timepieces, writings, and so many other things, that nothing more and nothing better could be done in this field of art.’

Giorgio Vasari, Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architettori, V

Along with Melencolia I and Knight, Death and the Devil, St Jerome in his Study is part of Dürer’s unofficial trilogy of ‘Meisterstiche’ or ‘master engravings’. The term is apt as in these mature works, created in 1513 and 1514, the artist reached the pinnacle of his abilities as an engraver. Aside from their technical virtuosity, the three prints are connected by their analogous formats, and through their depiction of a solitary figure within an intricately detailed and highly symbolic setting. The Meisterstiche also correspond to the three kinds of virtue espoused in medieval philosophy: moral, theological, and intellectual; together they thus capture the complexity of contemporary thought.

In this engraving Dürer depicts Saint Jerome, the fifth-century monastic leader and translator of the Bible. The scholar is pictured in a mode of quiet yet fruitful contemplation: he works at a writing desk in a study typical of Dürer's time, while his companion dog and lion doze peacefully at the threshold of the room. The interior is distinctly sunny and peaceful; as Panofsky has commented, the atmosphere of Jerome’s setting is best captured by the German adjectives ‘gemütlich’ and ‘stimmungsvoll’, terms used to denote a state of warmth, intimacy and protectedness.

Indeed it is the qualities of warmth and illumination that make this print so extraordinary. In fine and early impressions such as this, the window transmits a glittering glow, which plays across the arches, ceiling beams and floor. The composition is thus imbued with a variety of warm tones and luminous contrasts, effects that defy the inherent linearity Dürer’s medium.

According to the artist’s records, he periodically gave patrons impressions of St Jerome in His Study together with Melencolia I, suggesting that he considered the works to be two parts of a whole. The engravings do appear to capture perfectly antithetical states of being: while both protagonists look skyward, the saturnine genius in Melencolia I is depicted in a mode of desolate inaction, thwarted in her attempt to grasp the mysteries of the universe; conversely Saint Jerome is shown in a state of harmonious and transcendent productivity.