A half-length, half-nude St. Jerome sits in profile, contemplating a lengthy scroll. On the table before him are other attributes of the saint: a skull, a writing quill and inkwell, a stone, and, in the shadows, an open book. He is bathed in a strong light coming from the upper left.

This painting has been attributed to a follower of the 17th-century Spanish painter Jusepe de Ribera. Known for his Caravaggesque chiaroscuro and gritty figure types, the Spanish-born Ribera made his career in Italy and specialized in large-scale representations saints and biblical figures. The present painting, of which two almost exact replicas are known, seems to be after a lost prototype by the artist. Similarities to Ribera’s interpretations of St. Jerome may be found in the pendulous scroll with pseudo-Greek writing, the hunched pose of the aged figure, and the attributes alluding to his scholarly activities, his self-flagellation and his reflection upon mortality.