Saint Jerome c. 18th century

Curator: Barthholomäus Ignaz Weiss gives us "Saint Jerome," a piece that really captures a kind of raw spiritual drama. What strikes you first about it? Editor: It's the light, isn't it? That intense beam piercing the darkness. It feels almost violent, like a forced revelation. Curator: Absolutely. Jerome is a figure often associated with intellect—he translated the Bible—but here, he's all raw emotion, face upturned, hand outstretched. Editor: The lion lurking in the shadows adds to that primal feel. It reminds us of Jerome’s transformative journey in the wilderness, a symbolic shedding of the old self. Curator: And that beam of light, is it divine intervention? Or maybe the agonizing light of truth. You feel the artist is inviting you into that moment of struggle and transcendence. Editor: It’s an etching filled with turmoil, a beautiful rendering of one man facing his demons, internal or external. A journey we all can identify with, I think.