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214 - Rare icon of Saint Jerome in the desert.
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Estimate €3,000 - €5,000
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Description
Rare icon of Saint Jerome in the desert. Tempera and gold on wood (wear, missing parts and small accidents). The saint is depicted in the centre kneeling in a cave next to a lion, his arms folded across his chest, his head raised towards the crucified Christ in the upper right-hand corner. Crete, 1450-1550. H. 28.5 x W. 23 cm. Expert : Maxime CHARRON [email protected] 06.50.00.65.51 This iconography summarises several episodes and essential aspects of the spiritual life of Saint Jerome (c. 347-420). After a youth devoted to studies in Rome, Jerome chose a life of renunciation and withdrew for several years to the desert of Chalcis, in Syria. The grotto represents this withdrawal from the world, where he led an ascetic life of prayer, fasting and meditation on the Scriptures. It was in this solitude that he sought to draw closer to Christ and fight the temptations that beset him. Christ on his cross, placed above him, evoked the main object of his contemplation. Jerome's writings show the extent to which meditation on Christ's Passion nourished his inner life. In Western art, he is often depicted before a crucifix, sometimes striking his chest with a stone as a sign of penitence. The cross is a reminder of his desire for permanent conversion and his love of the suffering Christ. The lion comes from a medieval tradition that became the saint's most famous attribute. According to the legend recounted in the Golden Legend, a lame lion came to Jerome's monastery. The saint is said to have removed a thorn from the lion's paw, and the healed animal remained faithfully with him. Although this episode is legendary and historically attributed to another monk, it has become the symbol of Jerome. The lion represents fidelity, strength harnessed by holiness and the power of the divine word, which the saint devoted his life to studying and passing on. This image thus unites the three major dimensions of the figure of Saint Jerome: the desert hermit, the penitent contemplating the crucified Christ and the wise man accompanied by the lion, who became one of the great doctors of the Church thanks to his translation of the Bible into Latin, the Vulgate.
See original version (French)
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About the sale GREAT QUARTERLY SALE – Madame X’s perfume collection and part of her wardrobe in the morning – continuing at 2 pm with paintings, works of art, 18th- and 20th-century furniture, jewellery, sculptures, etc.
Auction location
Auction time 06/27/2026 at 10:00 AM
Ref. : 1845 - 1
Lot description modified on 06/04/2026 at 3:23 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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