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Nicolás Francés , Spanish, fl. 1425-1468

Title

Saint Jerome Translating the Gospels

Datec.1450

MediumTempera on panel

Dimensions

98 x 59 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 1939

Object numberNGI.1013

Exhibition HistoryCentenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964

Label TextSaint Jerome is best known as the translator of the Old and New Testaments into Latin. He is usually represented, in Christian art, praying in the wilderness or, as is the case here, working in his study. In the foreground, a monk removes a thorn from a lion's paw. This relates to the legend that Jerome did precisely that to a limping lion, which in gratitude became the saint’s companion. Nicolás Francés was active in León (north-west Spain) in the mid-fifteenth century. The bright tonality of this panel is reminiscent of manuscript painting, a medium in which the artist also worked.