Jusepe de Ribera – A virtuoso still relevant today

To discover and explore the exceptional exhibition of works by Jusepe de Ribera, a Spanish artist who lived in Italy from 1591 to 1652, you have to go back in time and immerse yourself in the era of figurative Art which idealized the individuals represented.

For the first time in France, coming from all over the world, more than a hundred works are brought together under one roof to show Ribera’s entire career. Especially since certain discoveries were made in 2002 and made it possible to establish with certainty that he was indeed the author of unattributed works, therefore called anonymous.

These newly identified works are part of the exhibition and are being presented to the public for the first time.

The people as a model

Talented, Ribera stood out at the age of 15, because he produced sketches of great intensity in a short time. Already, he is recognized and, as was the case in the 16th century, particularly in Italy, prestigious aristocrats and the clergy commissioned him.

However, his work differs from the art school then in force. In summary, at the time, classical painting ideally represented holy figures. They were physically beautiful, with naked bodies with soft, sensual shapes.

Ribera immediately breaks away from this trend by wanting to illustrate the true, the real, and above all by giving a new place to the people whom he takes as a model.

He will use a technique of striking contrasts which will highlight the flesh marked by time and labor. In theatrical and dramatic positions, he paints characters who writhe, as if moved by an inner force that they cannot control.

The painting technique used by Ribera is of exceptional virtuosity and realism.

A sense of holiness

The retrospective exhibition offers several examples of this talent.

Under the theme of fables having taste and smell as their subject, Ribera paints beggars in rags, whose faces are marked by suffering. But as these characters seem to be illuminated by a light coming from above, the impression of holiness is always present and resists the expression of a hard daily life.

A work from 1631 entitled Maddalena Ventura and her husband or The bearded woman surprises with its topicality.

This is because Ribera is interested in people on the margins of society. He is the portraitist of gypsies, poor street children and the infirm. As a result, these works are reminiscent of Spanish literature, particularly the novel Don Quixote of La Mancha written at the same time by Miguel de Cervantes.

As Ribera worked in thematic series, those which illustrate certain tortures are incredibly violent. Despite the current profusion of war images in the media, Ribera manages to move us by showing the pain of the victims, and above all, the pleasure that the executioners seem to take in it, once again a most contemporary message.

Through the range of works that we discover in this exhibition, let us remember that although these people seeming to come from poor backgrounds have a modest appearance, their interior life nonetheless remains very rich. A universal message!

The exhibition Ribera – Darkness and light is held until February 23, 2025 at the Petit Palais – Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris.

Or : Avenue Winston-Churchill, 75008 Paris.
Tel : 01 53 43 40 00
Metro: Line 1 and 13 Station: Champs-Élysées-Clémenceau
Site web : petitpalais.paris.fr

For more than 20 years, Manon Blanchette has been an art historian and museum manager. She has contributed to numerous contemporary art magazines.