Jusepe de Ribera, genannt „lo Spagnoletto“, 1588/91... Lot n° 259

THE BREASTING MARIA MAGDALENA IN THE DESERT Oil on canvas. Doubled. 200 x 150 cm. In gilded profile frame. Attached an expertise of Nicola Spinosa, Naples, January 24, 2020. Mary Magdalene kneeling to the left on a rock with copper-colored hair, which together with the silver, tight-fitting garment and the light incarnate contrasts with the darkness of the landscape closing behind. In front of her a human skull, against which an open book leans. At her knees a glass ointment vessel. The present large-format work is a painting that the Hispanic Ribera made in his mature phase, namely around 1640. Already as a young man he was active in 1608-1609 in Rome, where he was mainly under the influence of Caravaggio, before he finally settled in Naples in 1616. The present Magdalena is particularly comparable to Ribera's "Saint Agnes" in Dresden and the "Mary in Prayer and Meditation", which was at Caylus in Madrid. In both paintings, and also in the one offered here, Ribera seems to have used the same female model; young, with copper-colored hair. Some have identified this as Ribera's daughter. All three paintings are also believed to have been created under the influence of the great Immaculate Conception for the main altar of the unshod Carmelite nuns in Salamanca. Before going to Naples, Ribera studied with Francisco Ribalta (1565-1628) in Valencia. In Rome he studied the works of Raphaelo Santi (1483-1520) and Agostino (1557-1602) and Annibale Carracci (1560-1609), and in Parma and Modena those of Antonio Allegri Correggio (c. 1489-1534). Later he was strongly influenced by Michelangelo Merisi il Caravaggio (1570/71-1610). The quality of his paintings elevated him to court painter to the Duke of Osuna as well as the King of Naples. In 1644 he was made a Knight of the Order of Christ by the Pope. By 1630 he was a member of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. Along with Caravaggio, he is the most important naturalist of Neapolitan painting with emphasis on chiaroscuro. A main characteristic of his work is the deliberate choice of depicting mostly old, ascetically bony slender figures such as hermits or philosophers. Literature: Cf. Nicola Spinosa, Ribera. La obra completa, Fundación Arte Hispanico, Madrid 2008, pp. 450, A301 and 302. (1240593) (13) Jusepe de Ribera, also known as "lo Spagnoletto", 1588/91 Jàtiva/ Valencia - 1652 Naples THE PENITENT MARY MAGDALENE IN THE DESERTOil on canvas. Relined. 200 x 150 cm. In profiled gilt frame. An expert's report by Nicola Spinosa, Naples, 24 January 2020, is enclosed. Literature: cf. Nicola Spinosa, Ribera. La obra completa, Fundación Arte Hispanico, Madrid 2008, p. 450, A301 and 302.