Artwork
St. Jerome and a bishop

St. Jerome and a bishop is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Master of the Holy Kinship the Elder. It dates from 1512 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Technique & Style
The composition depicts the figures of Saint Jerome and Saint Ambrose, adhering to the iconographic conventions of early 16th-century German religious art.
Created in 1512, this religious painting is executed in oil paint on a wooden panel. The work measures 184 cm in height and 99.8 cm in width. Stylistically, the piece is attributed to the Master of the Holy Kinship the Elder, potentially involving workshop participation.
The composition depicts the figures of Saint Jerome and Saint Ambrose, adhering to the iconographic conventions of early 16th-century German religious art.
History & Provenance
The painting St. Jerome and a bishop was created in 1512 by the Master of the Holy Kinship the Elder, potentially with assistance from his workshop. Executed in oil on panel, the work depicts the figures of Jerome and Ambrose. It is currently held within the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek.
No specific details regarding the original commission, the initial owner, or the subsequent chain of ownership prior to its arrival at the Bavarian State Painting Collections are provided in the available records.
The painting St. Jerome and a bishop is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections. It is currently located at the Alte Pinakothek. The work was created in 1512 by the Master of the Holy Kinship the Elder.
No specific inventory number or exhibition history for this artwork is provided in the available sources.
Context
The painting St. Jerome and a bishop by the Master of the Holy Kinship the Elder, created in 1512, received limited contemporary attention but modern scholarship identifies it as a significant example of early 16th-century religious art within the Master of the Holy Kinship workshop's output. It depicts the saint Jerome alongside Saint Ambrose and reflects the devotional practices of the period. The work is housed in the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, where it has been part of the permanent collection since at least the mid-20th century.
Its stylistic features and iconography have been analyzed as representative of the transition from late Gothic to Renaissance influences in Southern German art.
Overview
Created in 1512, this oil painting by the Master of the Holy Kinship the Elder presents a pair of ecclesiastical figures standing within a vaulted interior. The work is part of the collection of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich and measures a modest size typical of devotional panels of the early sixteenth century.
Subject & Meaning
The left-hand figure, dressed in a plain brown habit and a wide-brimmed cap, is identified as Saint Jerome, renowned for his Latin translation of the Scriptures. Opposite him stands a bishop in sumptuous vestments, a mitre crowned with a cross, and a staff, representing Saint Ambrose, a key theological authority of the fourth century.
Artist & collection
Artist
Master of the Holy Kinship the Elder
The Master of the Holy Kinship the Elder was an anonymous German painter active in Cologne in the early fifteenth century, roughly between 1410 and 1440.















