The painting depicts Saint Jerome, one of the four Fathers of the Western Church, during his five years in the desert as a hermit. During his isolation, the saint had various visions and various times believed he heard the sound of the trumpet with which the angel of the Apocalypse announced the Last Judgement. The center of the composition is dominated by the figure of the holy hermit framed by a fire-red cloth. The body shows in detail the man’s physical deterioration, while his eyes, filled with anxiety, are looking up at the squealing trumpet and his left arm is raised to his head. The book in the lower right corner refers to Jerome’s revision of the Bible, the so-called Vulgata, and his many exegetic writings. Images like this one became quite common throughout the 17th century for their stimulation of reflections about death, an event that in the Christian concept represents the moment of reunion with God.