Saint Jerome and the Lion (van der Weyden)

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St. Jerome and the Lion is a small oil painting on oak panel by Rogier van der Weyden (or his workshop), dating from around 1450–1465. It measures about 30.8 by 25.2 cm and is housed in the Detroit Institute of Arts. The scene tells the legend of St. Jerome: a wounded lion comes to him, Jerome removes a thorn from the paw, and the grateful animal stays by his side. Jerome is shown as an old man in red cardinal robes with a white fur lining, and his red hat (galero) sits nearby, a book open on his lap. He turns to tend the lion’s paw while the animal sits on a rock outside a cave. In the upper left corner, Jerome is depicted in prayer, wearing a hair shirt. Van der Weyden’s painting helped establish this image of St. Jerome and inspired many later works for about seventy-five years.