In this joint venture between Tom Richards and Daniel Graves we are guided through several examples of Ribera’s paintings and etchings, exploring the culture and scene of his time through a rich historical context, as well as deeply analyzing his own works in terms of composition, technique, color, narrative, and form.

Jusepe de Ribera, also known as José de Ribera, Josep de Ribera, and “Lo Spagnoletto,” was born in Xàtiva, Spain in 1591, and died in Naples in 1652, where he spent the majority of his career as a painter-etcher. Although considered a leading painter of the Spanish school, he is also named a Caravaggist (follower of Caravaggio) and he studied in Rome around 1612-1613 at the Academy of Saint Luke. By 1616 Ribera had married Caterina Azzolino, the daughter of a Sicilian-born Neapolitan painter Giovanni Bernardino Azzolino, which is partly why when avoiding his creditors, Ribera found himself permanently moved to Naples, a city which at the time was part of the Spanish Dominion.

Many are allured by the violence in the works of Ribera, and he is often celebrated for his depictions of human suffering. However, there is far more to his works than the grim reality of many of his subject matters. Particularly in this lecture we focus on the series of paintings of St. Bartholomew, who according to hagiography was skinned alive and beheaded. Together we look deeply at five examples of Ribera’s representations of this saint, along with a painting of Apollo and Marsyas, also depicting a scene involving a flaying. Focusing on narrative, depiction of form, use of light and shadow, composition, and anatomy, we pull apart how masterfully Ribera conveyed his thoughts and intentions through his work, ending on an example of the saint with just as much integrity and gravity of the other examples, but without the violence.

Additionally, a large section of this lecture focuses exclusively on etching, with Daniel Graves speaking in depth on Ribera’s career specifically as a “painter-etcher” as well as other well known artists who are celebrated for both their paintings and etchings, such as Anders Leonard Zorn (1860-1920) and Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669). Graves pulls from his personal experience studying painters and artists of the 17th century and expresses how etching and painting affect and inform each other.

Click below for more info about the artworks featured in this lecture!