Saint Jerome Reading in an Italian Landscape

This is the last of Rembrandt van Rijn's seven etchings featuring the hermit and scholar Saint Jerome. Here the saint enjoys a quiet period of study under an improvised roof, with his sandals laid aside. His peace is assured by the alert presence of his faithful lion companion. Although this print may look unfinished, the areas of exposed paper surrounding the saint's figure and the buildings in the background are meant to be read as the effects of brilliant, white sunlight. Drypoint scratches made over the first layer of etched and/or engraved lines carry more ink, thus resulting in the darkened areas of the tree, the lion's mane and the shadow at the base of the building furthest to the right.