Painting by Marinus van Reymerswale St. Jerome in his Study, c.1535-45. Durer's painting of the same subject inspired many artists in the Low Countries long after his return to Nuremberg. St. Jerome, translated Greek and Hebrew biblical texts into the standard Latin versions that eventually formed the Vulgate, the principal Latin version of the Bible. The skull represents the seat of thought, and also symbolized spiritual perfection and mortality. Death of the physical body (symbolized by the skull) enabled one to be reborn at a higher level at which the spirit could rule. The finger pointing at the skull was a motif adopted by many contemporary and later painters.