De heilige Hieronymus 1659

Moses ter Borch made this drawing of Saint Jerome using pen in grey-brown ink and brush in grey ink, sometime in the 17th century. It presents us with a figure who lived in the 4th and 5th centuries, yet the image reflects a very specific Northern European sensibility. The iconography and composition are steeped in the cultural and religious context of the time. Jerome is shown as a scholar in a state of contemplation, alongside the lion, his attribute. We see a skull, a symbol of mortality, and the crucifix, signifying Christ’s sacrifice. The image reflects the historical tension between the Catholic and emerging Protestant viewpoints on hagiography and how saints should be perceived. Was the Saint to be seen as a divine being, or simply a mortal man? By understanding the social and intellectual debates in 17th-century Holland, historians can delve deeper into the cultural significance of artworks like this one. Further research into the Ter Borch family’s artistic patronage would give us an even greater understanding of the image’s public role.