Focus on this artwork and explain the Description.
The small picture is painted in oil on limewood panel. It portrays St. Jerome – known for his teachings on Christian moral life – working in his study, a room without walls and ceiling viewed through an aperture (probably within a Gothic monastery). In common with several other works by the Messinese painter, the protagonist is accompanied by a host of supporting details pertinent to the contemporary Flemish school: books, animals, pottery, etc., all painted with precise detail and "optical truth".
The scene is devised such that the light rays coincide with the perspective axis, focusing on the saint's torso and hands. A verdant landscape is revealed through the windows from both sides of the study. Animals include a partridge (Alectoris graeca) and a peacock in the foreground, both having symbolical meanings, a cat, and a lion, typically associated with St Jerome, in the shade on the right.
perspective axis St. Jerome Alectoris graeca Flemish school aperture Messinese Jerome