School of José de Ribera, 17th century

School of JOSÉ DE RIBERA (Játiva, 1591-Naples, 1652), 17th century.
"Penitent Saint Peter".
Oil on canvas.
With important original period frame.
Slight restorations.
Measurements: 119 x 97 cm; 129 x 106 cm (frame).
This work made by a contemporary of the author or someone close to his workshop, is a penitent Saint Peter of which José de Ribera made numerous versions, being the most known the ones in the Museum of Fine Arts in Rouen and the one in the Munich Gallery. The work shows St Peter's repentance after having denied Christ three times. This Christian iconography did not appear until the 16th century. In this way the sacrament of penance and the saint's own person as founder of the Church were exalted. The figure appears inside a cave - a traditional place of penance - wearing a dark tunic and yellow cloak. He rests his head on his right hand and raises his gaze to heaven, begging forgiveness; his eyes are filled with tears reiterating his repentance. The figure is treated with great naturalism, as if he were a fisherman.
From its subject matter and style we can situate this painting within the Neapolitan school of the 17th century around the school of José de Ribera, a key painter belonging to the generation of the great masters of the Golden Age, trained in Italy as a self-taught artist. He first came into contact with naturalism when he arrived in Rome in 1615, where he came into contact with the Nordic Caravaggists, from whom he adopted the smooth, hurried technique, ugliness and rigorous drawing that shaped his style during his Roman period. However, in 1616 he moved to Naples and settled there permanently. In Naples Ribera became the leader of the group of Neapolitan naturalists and an important circle of painters grew up around him. Despite his stay in Italy, Ribera sent numerous works to Spain, and his language would play a key role in the development of the Baroque in our country. His work would bring tenebrism and, later, the full Baroque, long before the latter arrived directly in Spain, thus influencing the new generations of painters. On the other hand, once his Roman period was over, his painting was characterised by a very loose, Venetian-influenced brushstroke, which also marked the work of his followers. Thus, Ribera's school developed a style of dramatic, contrasting, clearly tenebrist lighting, which is nevertheless tinged by a Venetian brushstroke that is impastoed and fluid. Thus, here we see an artificial, directed spotlight that penetrates the scene from the upper left corner and directly illuminates the face and torso of the philosopher, leaving the rest in semi-darkness. And we also find that totally modern brushstroke that models by relying on the light, that touch of doughy, expressive brushstroke directly from the school of Ribera.