St Jerome and the Lion

This painting of Saint Jerome and the Lion, around 1485, by Memling, depicts the Church Father with the lion whose paw he healed—the most popular episode in Jerome's legend. The subject was frequently depicted in Netherlandish art, combining scholarly and animal subjects Hans Memling brought serene, refined beauty to Flemish devotional painting, becoming the leading artist in Bruges after the death of van der Weyden Oil on canvas, increasingly preferred over panel in the sixteenth century, offe

Jerome's study is rendered with meticulous attention to books, furnishings, and architectural detail. The lion is painted with naturalistic conviction, its tawny fur contrasting with the saint's cardinal red robes.