The profile of St. Jerome corresponds to one of the basic facial types used by the Master of the Luxembourg Family Tree and his workshop (Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor).

[1] Theodoric had previously used a similar type in the mural Adoration of the Three Kings on the vault of the window niche in the Chapel of the Holy Cross.

The cardinal's hat and cloak symbolize his position as personal secretary to Pope Damasus I. Jerome came from Stridon (present-day Bosnia) and was therefore considered a Slavic saint.

He studied classical antique literature and languages in Rome, was baptized there, and went to the Roman Christian catacombs to repent and remember human mortality.

[4] He is usually depicted with a bible and skull as a memento mori, as a scholar writing at his desk, with a lion whom he had thorn pulled out of his paw in the desert, as a hermit and penitent before a revealed crucifix, and as a cardinal.