Art History Lecture w/ Tom Richards & Daniel Graves - Jusepe de Ribera

An Installment in the Art History related content on The FAA Collective Patreon

Dear Patrons,

Thank you for your support! This week on The FAA Collective we would like to present you with a fascinating lecture by The Florence Academy of Art Assistant Director Tom Richards and FAA Director and Founder Daniel Graves on the 17th century Spanish artist Jusepe de Ribera. In this joint venture between Richards and 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. 

We hope you thoroughly enjoy this deep dive into the world and works of this celebrated artist! 

Ribera Painting Examples:

1. The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew (Jusepe de Ribera, c1630). Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy. 

2. The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew (Jusepe de Ribera, c1644). National Art Museum of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain. 

3. St. Bartholomew (Jusepe de Ribera, c1612-13). Roberto Longhi Foundation in Florence. 

4. Apollo and Marsyas (Jusepe de Ribera, 1637). Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy. 

5. St. Bartholomew (Jusepe de Ribera, 1630-1635). Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain. 

Selected Featured Images: 

The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew (Jusepe de Ribera, 1644)

Portrait of Cornelius van der Geest (Anthony van Dyck, 1620)

Marten Ryckaert (Anthony van Dyck, c1627-1632)

Ferdinando Brandani (Diego Velázquez, c1649-1651)

Apollo and Daphne (Gian Lorenzo Bernini, c1622-1625)

Interior of Topkapı Palace in Istanbul, Turkey

St. Stephen (Bernardo Cavallino)

Bust in the collection of Giustiniani family - Patrons of Ribera 

Emanuel Filibert of Savoy (Anthony van Dyck, 1624). 

The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew for the Viceroy of Sicily, Emanuel Filibert of Savoy (Jusepe de Ribera, 1624)

Daniel Graves is Director and Founder of The Florence Academy of Art and an active painter based in Florence, Italy.

To see more of the work of Daniel Graves please visit:

http://www.danielgravespaintings.com/

https://www.instagram.com/danielgravesart/

https://www.florenceacademyofart.com/alumni-gallery/daniel-graves/

https://www.facebook.com/DanielGravesArt/

Tom Richards is currently Assistant Director of The Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. 

To view his work please visit:

https://www.instagram.com/tominflorence/

https://www.tawrichards.com/

https://www.florenceacademyofart.com/alumni-gallery/tom-richards/