Ribera, Jusepe de

(Lo Spagnoletto; 1591-1652)

   Born in Jativa, near Valencia, Jusepe de Ribera was one of the most notable painters of Baroque Spain. Nothing is known of his training, though some believe he may have studied with Francisco Ribalta. At the age of 16, he went to Naples, then part of the Spanish domain, a trip that coincided with Caravaggio's stay in that region. As a result, Ribera adopted the Italian master's style. In 1611, Ribera is documented in Parma, working for Ranuccio Farnese, and in 1613 he was in Rome where he remained until 1616 and where he requested admittance into the Accademia di San Luca. His Allegory of Taste (1616; Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum) belongs to this early period in his career. A Caravaggist composition, it shows a crude male eating eels. The still life in the foreground, the dark background, and the diagonal entry of light into the pictorial space are elements borrowed from Caravaggio.

   In 1616, Ribera moved to Naples where he remained for the rest of his life. He began to sign his paintings Jusepe Ribera Hispanus to assert his nationality in a region where outside masters were normally not welcomed. A versatile artist, Ribera painted mythologies such as his Drunken Silenus (1626), religious scenes such as his St. Jerome and the Angel of Judgment (1626; both Naples, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte), portraits such as his Magdalena Ventura with Her Husband and Child (1631; Toledo, Museo Fundación Duque de Lerma), and genre works such as his Girl with a Tambourine (1637; private collection) and Clubfooted Boy (1642; Paris, Louvre). By the mid-1620s, in response to the art of Guido Reni, Ribera loosened his brushwork and muted his colors. He also pushed his figures deeper into the picture plane. Ribera enjoyed a successful career, catering to both Italian and Spanish patrons, among them Philip IV of Spain. Though a Spaniard, stylistically Ribera's works should be categorized as Italian.