Art Reading Scripture

St. Jerome Writing by Caravaggio 1605 Borghese Gallery Rome

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Psalm 51:3

In my travels I have made it a goal to see as many paintings by Caravaggio as I can. Caravaggio (1571-1610) brought a unique style of realism to scenes of the Bible and life. He played with light and darkness in his art in ways that were new and striking at the time, but then oft copied by others. He was a deeply religious person, and led a tremendously troubled and violent life. Pope's and nobility commissioned his paintings, and the law chased him from Rome to Malta for acts of violence and murder. His Madonna's were prostitutes and his David's were patrons. Andrew Graham-Dixon's "A Life Sacred and Profane: Caravaggio" is biography told through the artists painting. I found "St. Jerome Writing" at the Borghese Gallery in Rome on Sabbatical in 2014. It had been a difficult day for me, as my phone had been pick-pocketed on the subway a few hours earlier. I was feeling a bit of guilt for not having secured it and a bit of shame as well. My sin is ever before me.

St Jerome, 4th century priest, theologian, is best known as the translator of the Bible into Latin, a version called the Vulgate which became authoritative for the Catholic Church. Jerome also wrote commentaries on every book of the Bible. He is the patron Saint of Translators, to whom I should pray while trying to learn German. Legend says that while living in the desert he removed a thorn from a lions foot. His compassion tamed the lion which became his life long companion. "Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til you good is better and your better is best," is a saying I learned at Bible Camp as a kind of "works righteousness" opposed to grace. It is attributed to St. Jerome.

Graham-Dixon writes that Caravaggio painted "St. Jerome Writing" for Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope. In July of 1605 a minor official, Mariano Pasqualone, accused Caravaggio of assault and bodily harm. He had been struck on the head with a sword and fell to the ground as his attacker fled the scene. He accused Caravaggio as the only person with whom he had a dispute. The story is a bit confused but goes something like this. They had days earlier argued about a woman, Lena, who was courted by Pasqualone and associated with the painter who used her as a model for a painting the Virgin Mary. Pasqualone's courtship was spurned by by Lena's mother because of the low esteem of his profession. He angrily chastised the mother for allowing her daughter to be employed by Caravaggio, assuming that they would also must be involved sexually. The mother went to Caravaggio in tears, told her story, and he consoled her with gentle words. Caravaggio then assaulted Pasqualone and told him to behave himself. There is some evidence that Lena was, instead of a love interest, in fact a prostitute. In the records Pasqualone described Lena as "a woman who stays on her feet in the Plazza Navona," implying that she regularly frequented the plaza waiting for customers. It is also possible that Pasqualone had frequented Lena, mistreated and not paid her, after which Caravaggio revenged her via the assault. While he employed models and likely slept with them, he was also very defensive of their welfare. Caravaggio was arrested, bailed out and skipped town. Eventually he made peace with Pasqualone, but not until he reluctantly signed a confession, which invloved a second assault on another minor official. The reprieve and signing took place in the presence of Cardinal Scipione Borghese to whom the painting of Jerome was "gifted." Friends in high places can make punishment go away in exchange for a gift.

In his "confession" Caravaggio expressed remorse. "I am sorry for what I did, and if I had not done it yet, I would not do it. I beg forgiveness and peace..." The painting of St. Jerome juxtaposes the bald head of Jerome with the skull on the other side of the table. Graham-Dixon: "It is a morbid visual rhyme." Jerome sits, head down, still writing a commentary or translating, the ongoing work of his life. The skull rests on an open book gazing back at him. The drape under the skull is white, symbolic of a funeral pall. Jerome is draped in red, the color of a Cardinal's robes. Jerome sits in light. The skull in darkness. In between, Jerome's arm stretches across the open book to dip a quill into an inkwell as he contemplates his next thoughts. The scene is described as "penitentially solemn." The tension between life and death, our labors and what will live on, sin and death which is ever before us while we strive to do the work that has been given to us, are all on display. As we go we express that we are sorry and beg for forgiveness and peace. Though, as Caravaggio well knew, sometimes we feel justified in our sins and make confession reluctantly because we are supposed to, or because it gets us out of trouble.

Keep the faith. Say your prayers. Love like Jesus.

Pastor Tim Bauer