Saint Jerome

Jerome's great service to the Church was his translation of the Bible into Latin, which he completed at a monastery in Palestine. The sculptor could not depict the setting as could a painter, but he could help viewers imagine it themselves by including a colorful detail--the lion that, according to the well-known story, was miraculously tamed by the saint and followed him around like a pet dog.

Alabaster is excellent for statuettes because it is easier to carve than marble and allows for fine detail. This figure is from a set of the Four Fathers of the Church (Saints Jerome, Augustine, Ambrose, and Gregory the Great) installed on an altar or a tomb. The style of the carving suggests it might be the work of the Spanish sculptor Bartolomé Ordóñez; it combines the angular drapery typical of the late Gothic period with a more complex sense of volume, revealing familiarity with contemporary Italian sculpture.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Count Pourtalès, Silesia [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Albert Ullmann, Frankfort, Germany [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Private collection, England; Paul Drey Gallery, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, March 12, 1958, by purchase.