St Jerome in the desert

Details

Bartsch 61; Meder 57 c (von g); Schoch/Mende/Scherbaum 6 c (von g).

Provenienz:
Wilhelm Heinrich Ferdinand Karl Graf Lepel (1755 Nassenheide-Hernhutt 1826), verso mit dem Stempel (Lugt 1672);
Kupferstichkabinett der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, verso mit dem Tilgungsstempel (Lugt 1606 und 2398);
Privatsammlung, Bayern.

Description

The large-format, early copperplate engraving in an excellent, warm-toned and rich impression, with the diagonal scratch across the centre rocks and with the black and effective rock shadow between the light areas. The landscape details are clear and evenly drawn in all areas. With the watermark sought after for a c state, which suggests that it was created around 1530. Trimmed close to the platemark.
In his graphic work, Dürer dealt several times with the Latin church father, who was increasingly venerated in the course of the 15th century. Here he depicts him as a penitent, self-mortifying hermit in the desert, together with his lion, from whose paw, according to legend, he had pulled a thorn. In literature, the depiction has been repeatedly compared to that of the “Prodigal Son”, to which it is close not only in form but also in time. It shows Dürer’s endeavour to place a kneeling human figure in a landscape composed of various elements, some real, some invented. In the foreground, the saint is kneeling in a sandy hollow “drawn with splendidly flowing lines” (Wölfflin), facing a crucifix. The rugged rock formations in the middle ground are based on precise nature studies of quarries in the vicinity of Nuremberg; in the background is a distant view of an island with a castle in the sea. – Horizontal, barely visible centrefold. Faint vertical rubbing at the upper edge on the right. Paper with occasional unobtrusive stains, otherwise in very good condition. Copies in this outstanding quality are extremely rare!