 Hi everybody, welcome to Barn's Takeout, your daily serving of art. I'm Robin Cran, Collections Research Coordinator at the Barn Foundation. Today I'm going to talk to you about this small painting right here, which is on the north wall of Room 4. So this painting is after the German artist Albrecht Dürer, who was a painter and printmaker working in Nuremberg. He was born in 1471 and died in 1528. He made a deep impact on the medium of printmaking, revolutionizing and elevating it to the level of an independent art form. He recognized its ability to spread his name outside of Nuremberg and he had a remarkable ability to manipulate the art form. The medium allowed him to gain success, as I said, outside of Nuremberg and renowned because of the ease of distribution of printmaking. Prints of works by Dürer were popular across Europe as artwork, but also as an affordable alternative to painting. So an individual who could not afford a painting by Dürer may be able to afford a print. It also allowed for his artwork to be distributed to many artists who may not have been able to see his paintings. He worked for important patrons like Frederick the Wise, the Elector of Saxony, and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. So this painting is an adaptation of several Dürer watercolors and a print of Saint Jerome in Penitence created by the artist Dürer. Because prints were more easily distributed, as I said, who the specific artist is who painted this work after Dürer is unknown. If we take a closer look at the background on the cliff behind the saint, we see this H right here. So this could be the monogram of the artist, although we don't know who that artist is. It's likely a monogram. Dürer himself included A.D. in many of his paintings and prints in order to signify that he was the creator. So it may be an H for the artist. We just aren't currently aware of who that artist is. This artist may have trained under Dürer, or he may have only known his work by studying his prints or some of his other artwork. Because of the composition's similarity to the print itself, it's likely that the artist may have only known of him through the artwork. So the composition itself is called Saint Jerome in the Wilderness, or Saint Jerome in Penitence, and it's depicting the fourth century Latin priest Saint Jerome, who's best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin known as the Vulgate. He's often depicted in one of two ways, either as a penitent as we see here, or as a scholar in his study. Dürer depicted him in both ways, but probably most famously as Saint Jerome in his study, which was one of his most well-known engravings and really elevated the technique of printmaking. So during the period of his life, the saint's life in which the scene it depicts, the saint went into the wilderness in Syria for several years to study the Bible and to write. He gave up material comforts and lived as an ascetic or a hermit, purifying his soul through physical suffering and freeing himself of worldly desires. So he's often depicted as a half-nude figure, often with unkempt hair and beard, with drapery on his lower body, sometimes emaciated. He is seen here as a penitent, half-nude in the wilderness, kneeling in front of a Bible and a cross, as we see right here. Sometimes that cross is a crucifix, and sometimes we also see a skull, which would have signified death, and which would have served as an aid in spiritual contemplation for the saint as would have the Bible and the crucifix or cross. So if we zoom in a little bit, we can see in his right hand he is holding a rock. This rock he would have been used to beat his chest in penitence. So he would have been purifying his soul through the physical suffering of the beating of his chest. If we go down a little bit further, we can see this tame lion right here. So this lion refers to another story within the life of the saint. One day, a lion entered the monastery where Saint Jerome resided and caused everyone in the monastery to flee. But Jerome recognized that the lion needed his help. The lion was injured and he helped him to remove a thorn from his paw, showing the saint's kindness and thereby taming the lion. So he's often shown with a lion, particularly as in the wilderness like this. The lion is therefore an attribute of the saint, so it's meant to help the viewer, aid the viewer in recognizing that this is Saint Jerome. So if we go into the background up here on the cliff, we also see a church. This may allude to his position as one of the doctors of the early Western Christian Church, along with Ambrose, Augustine, and Gregory the Great. Those whose doctrinal writings would have held special authority within the Catholic Church and still do. So this rocky landscape, which is also prominently featured within the print, which this painting is after, very striking resemblance to ones that study included in watercolor studies. So these watercolor studies were of the quarries near Nuremberg, which was his native city. So they don't necessarily resemble the landscape of Syria, but one which the artist and his patrons would have recognized. So it was common for artists at this time, particularly in the north, to depict landscapes which they and their patrons were familiar with rather than the actual landscapes that the artwork is meaning to depict, such as the one in which Saint Jerome would have actually resided. This scene would have resonated more powerfully with the viewer if they're able to see something which they are familiar with themselves. In the background we also see this unknown castle, which appears to be on an island in the distant water. It's also seen in the print, although it's unknown what this is meant to depict. So although the specific artist of this painting is unknown, it is a really good example of the importance and the proliferation of printmaking within the 16th century and Durer's impact on the northern Renaissance. Well, that's it for today's Barnes Takeout. I hope that you enjoyed learning about this painting. If you're interested in learning more, I encourage you to sign up for our adult education class on Durer and the Northern Renaissance, which starts in July. Thank you, and as always, if you have any questions, please leave them below.