St. Jerome Contemplating the Cross (Album I)

A copy of a drawing by Francesco Vanni, which was also engraved by Agostino Carracci. It shows Saint Jerome who was a Christian scholar and is described as spending four years in the desert, fasting and praying to reject sensual pleasures. He was regularly depicted in art gazing at a crucifix or cross whilst beating his bare chest. In this drawing, a landscape can be glimpsed behind him, indicating the desert. The skull suggests human mortality.