Saint Jerome

Schäufelein painted this Saint Jerome around 1504 during his time in Dürer's Nuremberg workshop. The subject of the penitent scholar-saint was a favorite of German Renaissance artists, allowing them to demonstrate both anatomical knowledge in rendering the hermit's ascetic body and landscape skill in depicting the wilderness setting. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

The panel shows the tight graphic style Schäufelein developed under Dürer's tutelage, with expressive line work defining the saint's aging body and detailed rendering of the rocky landscape and lion companion.