Artwork
Saint Jerome in a Cave
Saint Jerome in a Cave is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Albrecht Altdorfer. It dates from 1514 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Albrecht Altdorfer’s *Saint Jerome in a Cave* is a black‑and‑white woodcut executed on laid paper around 1514. The composition places the hermit saint within a rugged cavern, accompanied by a lion and two other figures. The scene is rendered in stark contrasts of line and tone, emphasizing the austere setting and the contemplative mood of the saint’s penance.
Subject & Meaning
The print portrays Saint Jerome, traditionally associated with scholarly labor and asceticism, seated with a book while a lion rests nearby—a visual reference to the legend of the saint taming a wild beast. A standing figure brandishes a cross, and a kneeling figure looks upward, suggesting a hierarchy of devotion and the transmission of spiritual authority within the secluded environment.
Technique & Style
Created through the woodcut process, Altdorfer incised the image into a wooden block, inked the raised surfaces, and transferred the design onto laid paper.
Created through the woodcut process, Altdorfer incised the image into a wooden block, inked the raised surfaces, and transferred the design onto laid paper. The work displays the Danube School’s hallmark of expressive, atmospheric landscapes, with intricate line work delineating the cave’s rocky texture and the figures’ gestures, while maintaining a clear, graphic quality characteristic of early 16th‑century printmaking.
History & Provenance
Altdorfer, a leading figure of the German Renaissance and a member of the Danube School, produced the print in Regensburg during the early 1510s. Though specific ownership records are sparse, the work has been documented in several European print collections and is recognized as part of Altdorfer’s broader output of religious woodcuts that circulated widely in his lifetime.
Context
The Danube School, which included artists such as Lucas Cranach the Elder and Wolf Huber, emphasized the integration of natural settings into religious narratives. Altdorfer’s choice to situate Saint Jerome within a cavern reflects this interest, foregrounding the landscape as an active participant in the spiritual narrative rather than merely a backdrop.
Artist & collection
Artist
Albrecht Altdorfer (c. 1480 – 12 February 1538) was a German painter, engraver and architect of the Renaissance working in Regensburg. Along with Lucas Cranach the Elder and Wolf Huber he is regarded to be the main…
