Emerging from a dark background, a half-length image of a man appears in the close foreground, his right shoulder and arm bare, his hair white and long, his features aged. He holds a wooden cross in his left hand and with his right he strikes his chest with a stone. The cross identifies him as a saint; his nakedness and dishevelled appearance indicate he is a hermit or a penitent; the stone with w
Series of Apostles became very popular during the Counter-reformation; they were usually half-length figures against a neutral background, holding their iconographical attributes. One of the most important series is the one that Ribera painted around 1630. It is mentioned for the first time in the Royal Collection towards the end of the eighteenth century and is made up of paintings of varying qua
Series of Apostles became very popular during the Counter-reformation; they were usually half-length figures against a neutral background, holding their iconographical attributes. One of the most important series is the one that Ribera painted around 1630. It is mentioned for the first time in the Royal Collection towards the end of the eighteenth century and is made up of paintings of varying qua
Series of Apostles became very popular during the Counter-reformation; they were usually half-length figures against a neutral background, holding their iconographical attributes. One of the most important series is the one that Ribera painted around 1630. It is mentioned for the first time in the Royal Collection towards the end of the eighteenth century and is made up of paintings of varying qua
Series of Apostles became very popular during the Counter-reformation; they were usually half-length figures against a neutral background, holding their iconographical attributes. One of the most important series is the one that Ribera painted around 1630. It is mentioned for the first time in the Royal Collection towards the end of the eighteenth century and is made up of paintings of varying qua
Series of Apostles became very popular during the Counter-reformation; they were usually half-length figures against a neutral background, holding their iconographical attributes. One of the most important series is the one that Ribera painted around 1630. It is mentioned for the first time in the Royal Collection towards the end of the eighteenth century and is made up of paintings of varying qua
The Trinity shows Ribera´s confidence in his pictorial possibilities. The tragedy of the scene is emphasized by the use of light and a sumptuous palette. The bluish cadaver of Christ, marked by blood that runs down his side, staining his loincloth and shroud, contrasts with the hieratic appearance of God the Father, who shows us his dead Son, accompanied by the dove of the Holy Ghost. This w
Saint Simon is depicted over a dark background. He carries a book and the saw that symbolizes his martyrdom. The technique, with strong contrasts of light and shadows, is still tenebrist, following the style of the Italian painter, Caravaggio, who was the maximum influence on Ribera´s work. That same influence is visible in the naturalist representation of the saint´s face, which may have been bas
Series of Apostles became very popular during the Counter-reformation; they were usually half-length figures against a neutral background, holding their iconographical attributes. One of the most important series is the one that Ribera painted around 1630. It is mentioned for the first time in the Royal Collection towards the end of the eighteenth century and is made up of paintings of varying qua
Series of Apostles became very popular during the Counter-reformation; they were usually half-length figures against a neutral background, holding their iconographical attributes. One of the most important series is the one that Ribera painted around 1630. It is mentioned for the first time in the Royal Collection towards the end of the eighteenth century and is made up of paintings of varying qua
A man is writing in a book and looking towards the viewer. His tears identify him as the Greek philosopher Heraclitus (6th century BC). Attributed to various artists in the past, this canvas is now considered an early work by Ribera from his Roman period. Numerous details of the technique are characteristic of this phase in his career, such as the modelling of the hands.
The painting is one of the most celebrated of Jusepe de Ribera´s so-called ragged philosophers. Although born in Spain, the artist spent his entire professional life in Italy. He appears to have been largely responsible for the invention of the subject in the mid 1610s, and it enjoyed great success in Italy over the course of the seventeenth century in the hands of artists such as Salvator R
Series of Apostles became very popular during the Counter-reformation; they were usually half-length figures against a neutral background, holding their iconographical attributes. One of the most important series is the one that Ribera painted around 1630. It is mentioned for the first time in the Royal Collection towards the end of the eighteenth century and is made up of paintings of varying qua
By the time he entered his last period, a life dedicated to the representation of religious scenes led Ribera to develop a supreme mastery in the transmission of religious feelings with a great economy of compositional means. Here, that communicative efficiency is achieved through the expressive concentration offered by the neutral background, the vivid red of the tunic and the saint´s posture, as
A poorly dressed blind man stands out against a dark background. With his hands, he touches a sculpted bust on a table that also bears a painting of a face. The work was signed by Jusepe de Ribera in 1632, but even without that signature there would be no doubt as to its authorship, as both its style and its subject matter are typical of his work. The figure is quintessentially Riberesque, as are