The Temptation of Saint Jerome

1541–48

Best known for his Lives of the Artists, a monumental compendium of biographies, Vasari was a successful architect and a prolific painter for the Medici dukes of Florence. This painting is a frequently depicted episode from the life of Saint Jerome. The saint—a scholar, translator of the Bible, and advocate of monasticism—vividly described the tempting visions that assailed him when he retreated to the desert to meditate.

Public domain · CC0
Free to download and reuse. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist

Giorgio Vasari (Italian, 1511–1574)

Date

1541–48

Medium

Oil on panel

Dimensions

166.5 × 121.9 cm (65 1/2 × 48 in.); Framed: 203.9 × 161.3 × 15.3 cm (80 1/4 × 63 1/2 × 6 in.)

Origin

Italy

Collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Credit

Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection