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Primary sourcePaintingc. 1480-1490

Saint Jerome in the Wilderness

Leonardo da Vinci · c. 1480-1490

An unfinished painting by Leonardo da Vinci showing Saint Jerome in the desert, notable for its study of anatomy.

An unfinished painting by Leonardo that reveals his early anatomical study of the human body.

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Unfinished painting of an elderly, gaunt, bald man seated on rocks, twisting his body and extending his right arm toward the left edge. A lion lies at the lower right, and a rocky cave and distant landscape with a small building fill the background.
Leonardo da Vinci, Saint Jerome in the Wilderness, c. 1480-1490. Pinacoteca Vaticana.

About this source

What it is

This is an unfinished painting by Leonardo da Vinci, made around 1480-1490. It is now in the Pinacoteca Vaticana. The composition was drafted in monochrome directly onto the wooden panel.

Why it matters

The painting shows Leonardo's fascination with the human body. Saint Jerome's emaciated, aged body let Leonardo study muscles and bones closely, something that became important in his later anatomical work. Because it was never finished, we can also see his working layers and how he built up a composition.

Look closer

  • What does the unfinished state let you see that a finished painting would hide?
  • How does Leonardo use the saint's body to show pain and devotion?
  • Why might an artist leave a work unfinished?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Leonardo da Vinci on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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