Saint Jerome (panel from an altarpiece)

Saint Jerome (panel from an altarpiece), at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, depicts the scholar saint who translated the Bible into Latin in the fourth century—a figure of particular importance to humanist culture—in his characteristic iconography as a penitent in the wilderness. Vittore Crivelli's altarpiece panel was likely one of two or more matching saint panels that flanked a central devotional image. The V&A's collection of Italian panel painting includes works from across the peninsula and provides important context for understanding regional schools like Vittore's Marchigian production.

Jerome is shown with his identifying attributes: the lion, the cardinal's hat (anachronistic but conventional), and the book of his biblical translation. The rocky wilderness setting is given enough atmospheric depth to distinguish it from the hieratic gold ground of the earliest panel traditions while maintaining the devotional primacy of the saint's figure.