The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 26, 2024

St. Jerome Seated near a Pollard Willow

St. Jerome Seated near a Pollard Willow

1512
(German, 1471–1528)
Image: 20.7 x 18.1 cm (8 1/8 x 7 1/8 in.); Sheet: 20.7 x 18.1 cm (8 1/8 x 7 1/8 in.)
Catalogue raisonné: Meder 58; Michelozzi (2007)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This is one of only three prints Albrecht Dürer made using drypoint, in which a needle is scratched directly into the copperplate.

Description

Of the hundreds of prints Albrecht Dürer made, only three were drypoints, in which a needle scratched directly into a copperplate creates velvety, fuzzy lines. In this image of Saint Jerome, Dürer exploited these qualities of drypoint to manifest the natural, spiritual realm of the saint’s hermitage in the wilderness. Jerome pauses from his studies to pray in a setting that buzzes with life. The saint’s isolation and communion with Christ result in spiritual rebirth, symbolized by the bumpy pollard (trimmed) willow, cut to generate new growth.
  • ?–1925
    Ralph King [1855–1926], Cleveland, OH, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    January 15, 1925–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Michelozzi, Maurizio, "A New State for Dürer's "St. Jerome by the Pollard Willow," Print Quarterly Vol. 24, No. 3 (September 2007): pp. 254-269. 254, 261, 265
  • Love Gardens / Forbidden Fruit. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 2-October 29, 2023).
    Eight Masters of the Print. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 14, 1980-January 18, 1981).
    Durer. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (organizer) (April 6-May 8, 1971).
    Albrecht Dürer - 500th Anniversary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 19-March 28, 1971).
    16th Century German Engravings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 13, 1938-January 22, 1939).
    Inaugural Exhibition of the New Print Gallery - Prints from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 10-November 13, 1938).
    16th Century Prints from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 4-29, 1935).
  • {{cite web|title=St. Jerome Seated near a Pollard Willow|url=false|author=Albrecht Dürer|year=1512|access-date=26 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1925.72