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The subject of this painting derives from depictions of hermit saints such as Jerome and Anthony who retreated to the wilderness to lead lives of penance and prayer. In this work, a pious monk kneels before a crucifix outside his crude shelter in the hollow of a blasted tree.
The desolate landscape, with its jagged rocks, fires, shipwrecks, and ruined buildings, is symbolic of the sinful world. This type of infernal landscape owes a great deal to the works of Hieronymus Bosch and was probably painted by one of his best known imitators, Jan Wellens de Cocq.
(Alfred Strauss, Jacob. M. Heimann and Lasar Knipsis, Los Angeles, California) by 1949;{1} Dr. George Henry Alexander Clowes, Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1949; Clowes Fund Collection, Indianapolis, and on long-term loan to the Indianapolis Museum of Art since 1971 (C10013); given to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2017.
{1} Bill of Sale from Strauss, Heimann, Knipsis to Clowes, 10 June 1949, File C10013, Clowes Registration Archive, IMA. The purchase of this painting for a minimal sum by Clowes was in settlement of a lawsuit that had been filed against Heimann.
