1591 -1652 · Xàtiva, Rome, Naples and Caravaggesque naturalism

Sharp light, true flesh and dignity of the humble make Jusepe de Ribera one of the most powerful painters of European Baroque.

Jusepe de Ribera was born in Xàtiva, near Valencia, in 1591. His Spanish training remains unknown, but he was documented in Italy from his youth, in Parma then in Rome, where he joined the community of foreign painters and directly discovered Caravaggio. Installed in Naples in 1616, then under Spanish domination, he remained there until his death and often signed "Jusepe de Ribera español", affirming an identity which earned him the nickname Lo Spagnoletto. Protected by Spanish viceroys, he sent numerous works to Madrid and the Escorial. His naturalism is based on popular models, violently contrasting light and uncompromising attention to skin, wrinkles, wounds and worn fabrics. But Ribera also masters Venetian color, Bolognese classicism, drawing and engraving. The Footbot transforms a poor young boy into a monumental and smiling figure. The Martyrdom of Saint Philip gives suffering an epic scale without taking away from executioners or witnesses their human truth. The Martyrdom of Saint Philip, ragged philosophers and tortured mythologies compose a work where the body becomes the place of knowledge, faith and dignity. The penitent saints, ragged philosophers and tortured mythologies compose a work where the body becomes the place of knowledge, faith and dignity. The selection "Jusepe de Ribera" notably compares The Martyrdom of Saint Philip and The Footbot. His reading favors movement.

Ribera looks at the flesh directly, but never without dignity: the light reveals wound, age and human strength at the same time.