Attributed to DIRK BOUTS (Haarlem, c. 1410/1420 - Leuven, 1475). "Saint Hieronymus Perpetent. Oil on panel. Engatillada. It has restorations. Measurements: 77.5 x 59 cm; 94 x 76 cm (frame). In this work the artist reveals an exceptional sense of drawing through which he has described the anatomy of the saint, showing great precision. Particularly successful is the anatomical depiction of the saint s thin but defined chest muscles, which give a glimpse of the saint s life as a hermit. His anatomy shows a certain elongation of the forms, which makes the hands stand out in particular, rounded but at the same time defined and refined. The face also reveals this technical care, which is determined by the treatment of the wrinkles and bags under the saint s expressive eyes. The detail with which the hair has been painted is also noteworthy, with each hair forming part of the beard visible. This shows the artist s interest in capturing an almost microscopic reality. The scene takes place in a landscape conceived in depth, in the right-hand area of which the silhouette of various figures and the lion can be seen, alluding to the legend of the main protagonist in the foreground. Saint Jerome holds a stone in his hand with which he is about to strike his chest, while next to him are the skull, the lion gazing at him attentively, and his hanging red robes, which identify him as a cardinal. This emphasis on detail and quality is a characteristic feature of the Flemish school. This, together with the hieratic and emphatic nature of the figure, suggests aesthetic compositions similar to those of the painter Dirk Bouts. Bouts may have studied with Rogier van der Weyden and his work was influenced by van der Weyden and Jan van Eyck. He worked in Louvain from 1457 (or possibly earlier) until his death in 1475. Little is known of this artist. The biographical note dedicated to him by Carel van Mander (1604) is, by his own admission, very incomplete. In 1468 he was appointed official painter to the city of Louvain, near Brussels. He is famous for his numerous religious paintings, in particular the Virgin and Child. Most of the time he used wooden supports on which he painted in oil. His mastery of perspective is visible in the precise settings in which the figures fit together with perfect coherence. Bouts was one of the first northern painters to demonstrate the use of a single vanishing point.