In AD 386, the Father of the Church Jerome (342-420) settled in Bethlehem. Over the next many years he translated The Old Testament and The New Testament into Latin. It is his translation which eleven hundred years later was declared to be the official translation of the Bible, the Vulgate, at what became known as the Council of Trent.
In the print, we see that the angel behind Jerome is holding up a book – the Bible – for everyone to see. Correggio (1494-1534), who painted the altarpiece The Madonna of Saint Jerome, has moreover portrayed Jerome with a scroll in his hand. The role of Jerome in the painting is almost that of an observer. He comes into the motif from the left and is presented to the two Mary’s and the Infant Jesus, who are placed beneath a baldachin and portrayed with a landscape in the background. Corregio made the altarpiece as a private commission for Ottaviano Bergonzi’s side chapel in the Church of Sant’ Antonio in Parma. Bergonzi was a member of one of the most influential families in the city. Correggio’s move to Parma was in general a turning point in his career. In particular, he received a large number of commissions from the Church.
Antonio Alelgri detto il Correggio dipinse / Mauro Gandolfi disegnò ed incise. / SE IN OPRE DI PENNEL, DIVINO INGEGNO / TI SOLLEVASTI ALL'ULTIMO DEL ARTE; / VALGAMI, CHE SI ETERNI IN QUESTE CARTE / DELLA MAGGIOR TUA PROVA IL CHIARO SEGNO / Giuseppe Vallardi / Il Correggio / L'Originale pittura è nell'Accademia ducale di Parma / Pietro Tanner impresse nella calcografia dell'edotore. / Pubblicata in Milano presso Pietro e Giuseppe Valardi Cont.a S.Margherita No.1101. l'anno 1826
