but even in van dyck's earliest works we see the artist's ow distinctive ylemerging. he painted this scene of st. jerome when heas about 16. instead of the heroic figures rens, van ck chose to show the hermit saint as a man past s prime. though van dyck based his composition on a work by ruben the young artist painted it difrently, applying his paint thickly with rough, broken strokes, exaggerating the naturalism of the biblical scene. in another version of the same subjec painted just a few years later, van dyck portrays st. jerome in y a different manner. in a moment of deep religious fervor, the saint is about to strike his chest in penance ( o) this interesin psyogical intensity, human emotis, and cral momen wou mark v dyck'wo ughout h career. van dyck again looked to a work by rubens for inspiration. but once again, he interpreted the story in his own manner. van dyck chose to represent the moment just before the philistine clips samson's hair and robsim of his strength as delilah and the oer conspirators watch anxiously. the composition may have seemed too compre