José de Ribera

JOSÉ DE RIBERA (Xátiva, Valencia, 1591-Naples, 1652).
"Saint Anthony Abbot.
Oil on canvas.
Relined.
Attached certificate of authenticity issued by Nicola Spinosa.
Measurements: 178 x 138 cm; 195 x 155 x 5 cm (frame).

This painting is a powerful and dramatic representation of Saint Anthony Abbot, executed by the Spanish Baroque master José de Ribera, known in Italy as "Lo Spagnoletto". As the certificate indicates, it is an autograph replica (i.e., painted by Ribera himself) of a work signed and dated 1644. This version shares the monumentality and quality of the original, standing out as a magnificent example of the artist's mature style.

The work is a paradigmatic example of tenebrism, a style of which Ribera was one of the greatest exponents, following in the wake of Caravaggio. The composition is articulated around a violent contrast between light and shadow that sculpts the figures and, above all, creates an atmosphere of immense dramatic and spiritual tension.

St. Anthony appears kneeling, in full communication with the divine, with his body and arms open, which, as the certificate points out, "ideally form a cross". This posture symbolizes his own spiritual crucifixion, his sacrifice and his resistance in the face of evil. His left arm is raised towards heaven, holding a simple staff, while his gaze is directed towards the same source of divine light that illuminates him, with his mouth half-open in a gesture of supplication or ecstasy. The right hand, open and in the foreground, conveys vulnerability and surrender. A powerful diagonal light, coming from the upper left corner, sculpts the figure of the saint. It strikes directly on his forehead, his beard, his shoulder and his white robe, pulling him out of the darkness that surrounds him. This light is both natural and symbolic: it represents divine grace or revelation, as an aid to the saint in his struggle.

True to his style, Ribera avoids any idealization. St. Anthony's face is that of a real old man, with skin furrowed by deep wrinkles, a clear forehead and a long, textured white beard. Ribera captures with an almost tactile precision the fragility of old age and physical suffering, which accentuates the strength of his spirit. This "expressive rigor in a naturalistic key" (as Nicola Spinosa writes) is one of the painter's unmistakable hallmarks.

The painting represents one of the best known episodes in the life of St. Anthony Abbot, father of eremitical monasticism: his temptations in the desert.

Crouching in the shadows, but with his face illuminated by a sinister reflection, is the devil. Ribera represents him with grotesque and bestial features: pointed ears, deformed nose, eyes in blood and with the fire of hell coming out of his mouth. This figure, as the certificate points out, is of a remarkable "expressive rigor", embodying the tangible presence of evil.

The saint is recognizable by his traditional attributes: the dark habit of the Antonian order over a white tunic, symbolizing his monastic life; the crosier or tau, and the pig or boar that accompanies him.

The certificate provides crucial data that situates this work. It confirms that it is a high quality version painted by Ribera himself, linked to a main work of 1644. The possible connection to a painting that circulated in the Montevideo market and at auctions in Madrid and London (albeit with erroneous attributions and titles) traces a fascinating story of its possible journey through time, highlighting how masterpieces can sometimes lose their correct identification.

In conclusion, this version of "San Antonio Abad" is a masterpiece that synthesizes the essence of José de Ribera's art: a profound Baroque spirituality expressed through raw realism, monumental composition, and a masterful use of chiaroscuro to explore the eternal conflict between faith and temptation, light and darkness.

José de Ribera, known as the Españoleto, was a key master of the Spanish Baroque, and in general of European art history. Although no documentary sources or evidence of his youth are preserved, it is believed that he trained with Francisco Ribalta in Valencia, after which he went to Italy, first to the north and later to Rome, where he learned first-hand about the classicists and the tenebrism of the Dutch who settled there. Finally he settled in Naples, where he arrived in 1616. Then began his period of maturity and splendor; Ribera enjoyed fame and a large workshop, and his works spread throughout Europe through engravings. He worked for viceroys and high officials of Spanish origin settled in Naples, so many of his works soon reached Spain. He was in fact famous in his native country, and in fact Velázquez himself visited him in 1630. Today, works by Ribera are kept in the Prado Museum, the Louvre, the Capodimonte Museum, the Fine Arts Museum in Budapest, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Kunsthistorisches and Liechtenstein Museums in Vienna, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Art Institute in Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the National Gallery and the Royal Collection in London, the Borghese Gallery in Rome and other important art galleries in Europe, America and Asia.