St Jerome in the scriptorium

The Master of Parral's St Jerome in the Scriptorium, in the Lázaro Galdiano Museum in Madrid, depicts the great Church Father engaged in his life's work of translating the Bible into Latin — the Vulgate that remained the standard text of Western Christianity for over a thousand years. Jerome in his study, surrounded by books and writing implements, was a subject particularly beloved by humanists who saw in him a model of scholarly dedication. The anonymous master, named for the Jeronymite monastery of El Parral near Segovia, worked within the Hispano-Flemish tradition's characteristic combination of interior detail and devotional intensity.

Jerome sits at his scriptorium desk surrounded by books and writing materials, the lion of his legend typically visible nearby. The master renders the scholar's study with Flemish attention to books, shelves, and domestic objects. Light from a window or candle models the scholar's concentrated figure.