Link only available on sub pages

This depiction of the penitent Jerome in the wilderness was probably Van Dyck’s response to a painting on the same theme by his teacher Rubens, which is also in the Dresden Gemäldegalerie (Gal. No. 955). Van Dyck’s composition is dominated by a bleak landscape with a black curtain hanging over it. The saint is depicted in an expressive way, using rapid, agitated brush strokes. His inner turmoil is clearly evident here, more so than in Rubens’ earlier image of Jerome.