Hieronymus Bosch (Jeroen van Aken, ca 1450-1516), St. Jerome in Prayer, c. 1482, oil on panel, 80 x 60 cm.
Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Ghent.
De heilige Hieronymus

St. Jerome has prostrated himself, a Crucifix cradled in his arms. His splendid red cardinal’s robe and hat lie abandoned on the ground. In this quiet, intent figure, Bosch has profoundly conveyed Jerome’s spiritual process. In the Middle Ages, representations of meditations in the wilderness were frequently interrupted by apparitions of beautiful courtisans. Here, the peaceful background panorama contains no hint of such evil, but the swampy cave in which the saint lies, is surrounded by symbols of corruption and decay, large decomposing fruits, a cat-headed dog and the inevitable owlet, perched on a branch, Bosch’s favourite symbol of evil. Only by surrendering completely to the will of God could Jerome subdue his rebellious flesh.