Francisco de Ribalta Circle.

Circle of FRANCISCO RIBALTA (Solsona, Lérida, 1565-Valencia, 1628). "Calvary".
Oil on panel.
Presents restorations in the pictorial surface and reinforcements on the board.
Measurements. 48 x 34 cm; 55 x 41 cm (frame).
This painting represents a deeply emotional scene of the Crucifixion of Christ, a central theme in the sacred art of the time. In the center of the composition, Jesus appears crucified, with a halo that highlights his divinity, while his body reflects a serene surrender to sacrifice. To his left, the Virgin Mary, dressed in the traditional colors of her iconography, red and blue, shows an expression of deep pain and resignation, while wearing a cloth to her face, symbolizing her affliction. On the right, St. John the Evangelist clutches his cloak in an intimate act of grief that harmonizes with the total darkness in which the scene is enveloped. A resource that enhances not only the volumetric presence of the figures, but also provides an atmosphere of stillness and absolute silence that harmonizes with the solemnity of the theme.
Aesthetically, the work is largely reminiscent of Ribalta's compositional models. He began his training in El Escorial, within the mannerism that dominated court painting at that time. After beginning his career in Madrid, he moved to Valencia in 1599, probably encouraged by the patronage of the patriarch Archbishop Juan de Ribera. There he produced his first known works, the altarpieces for the church of Algemesí, which denote a style halfway between the mannerism of the Escorial style and naturalism. During these first years of the 17th century he carried out several commissions for the archbishop, whose death in 1611 marked a certain stylistic turn in Ribalta's work. His language takes an intimate and profound slant, very much in keeping with the more pious mood of the Counter-Reformation, inspired by the solemn gravity of certain models of Sebastiano del Piombo that he knew in Valencia itself. Ribalta knew how to combine these influences with a naturalistic and direct language for which he was especially gifted. His chromatism also became more restrained and sober, and his figures lost in gesticulation to deepen in expressive intensity. From the second decade of the century his disciple Vicente Castelló and his son Juan Ribalta worked with him, forming a solid and prolific artistic team, in which sometimes it is not easy to distinguish their individualities. Around 1618 Ribalta fell ill, and this was the beginning of his last stage, the most mature of his production. He painted fewer works, but his style became more intense and emotional, entering into a deep naturalism of moving force, as seen in his great painting "Embrace of St. Francis to the Crucified", painted for the Capuchins of Valencia around 1622. Six years later Francisco Ribalta died, and a few months later also his son Juan, leaving traced in the Valencian painting guidelines that would last for a long time, conditioning the development of the Baroque style. In fact, Ribalta was, along with Velázquez and Ribera, one of the main founders of the naturalistic language in Spain. Works by Francisco Ribalta can be seen in the Prado Museum, the National Gallery of London, the Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia, the Hermitage of St. Petersburg, the Louvre, the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, the Chi-Mei of Taiwan and the J. Paul Getty Museum of Los Angeles, among other art galleries.