Kerkvader Hieronymus after 1600

Here we see Roeland van Bolten's engraving of Saint Jerome, a father of the Church, framed by books and accompanied by a lion. Jerome, bathed in divine light, is in his study, his mind aflame as he writes. The lion is a fascinating symbol with a convoluted past, a vestige of pagan antiquity, now baptized into Christian lore. We can trace it back to the ancient Near East. In Egypt, Sekhmet, a lion-headed goddess, represented the destructive power of the sun. Over time the lion morphed into a symbol of power and royalty. But here, the lion by Jerome’s side has undergone another metamorphosis. According to legend, Jerome removed a thorn from the lion's paw, and the lion then became his loyal companion. This image resonates deeply, evoking subconscious memories of man’s dominion over nature, an old cultural memory now reimagined in a Christian context. The Saint’s act speaks to the transformative power of compassion, a theme that still haunts our collective imagination.