Jusepe De Ribera Biography | Oil Paintings

Jusepe Jose de Ribera, nicknamed La Spagnoletto (the little Spaniard), studied under Francisco Ribalta in Valencia and then went to Rome to study the frescoes of Raphael, and to Parma to learn from Antonio da Correggio's works. He settled in Naples in 1615, where his paintings caught the eye of the Spanish viceroy. The Duke of Osuna, the Spanish viceroy of Naples, appointed him court painter, thus introducing him into Neapolitan artistic circles, and commissioned major works for Jativa, his hometown in Andalusia. In Naples, he broadened the field of potential subjects and added down to earth paintings by depicting the life of the common people. As a result, his career was assured and he became a prolific painter of intensely realistic religious and genre subjects.

Ribera, the link between Spanish and Italian Painting.

Jusepe Jose de Ribera delighted in the gory details of the martyrdom of the saints, thus provoking Lord Byron in Don Juan to quip that 'Spagnoletto tainted his brush with all the blood of all the sainted'. He was also fascinated with the bizarre or grotesque in contemporary life; but by the 1630s his work assumed a more reflective, tranquil approach. Still, it was the fervent spirituality of his earlier paintings that appealed to his Spanish clientele.

Jusepe de Ribera has been portrayed as protecting his prosperity and is reputed to have been the chief in the so-called Cabal of Naples. It is said this group aimed to monopolize Neapolitan art commissions, using intrigue, sabotage of work in progress, and even personal threats of violence to frighten away outside competitors.

Ribera, the link between Spanish painting and the Neapolitan School, was one of the most original Caravaggesque artists. The Neapolitan School produced an uninterrupted series of outstanding painters and became renowned as one of the most exciting centers of figurative art in Europe. Although he spent much of his career in Italy, many of his works were commissioned by Spaniards.

Art Movement History: Baroque.
Artists Influencing Jusepe deRibera: Francisco Ribalta, Guido Reni, Raphael, Correggio, Caravaggio.
He Traveled To Italy.
Painters Jusepe Ribera Influenced: Enrico Fiammingo, Francesco Fracanzano, Luca Giordano, Bartolomeo Passante, Giuseppe Marullo, Agostino Beltrano, Hendrick van Someren, Paolo Domenico Finoglio, Giovanni Ricca, Pietro Novelli.
Artist Biography compiled by Albert L. Mansour at The World's Artist.