After José Ribera, c. 1700

After JOSÉ DE RIBERA (Xátiva, Valencia, 1591 – Naples, 1652), c. 1700.
“Saint Jerome”.
Oil on canvas.
It has a patch on the back.
Measurements: 70 x 50 cm; 85 x 65 cm (frame).
This work depicts Saint Jerome, one of the most recurring subjects in the oeuvre of José de Ribera and in Tenebrist painting associated with the Neapolitan school. The composition closely follows the painting preserved at the Harvard Art Museums, a work by José de Ribera (inv. 1920.7), reproducing his characteristic depiction of the saint as an ascetic figure, absorbed in meditation and the contemplation of death. The saint is depicted in the foreground, bare-chested and partially wrapped in a cloak, silhouetted against a dark background that intensifies the drama of the scene. The light directed toward the face and body accentuates the hallmarks of light and shadow, an essential device in Ribera’s naturalistic style.
A particularly interesting aspect of this version is the variation introduced with respect to the Harvard prototype: while in the reference work Saint Jerome holds the skull with one hand, in this painting he is shown holding it with both hands, thereby reinforcing the meditative and penitential nature of the depiction.
The choice of this model highlights the widespread influence of Ribera’s compositions, whose painting exerted a notable influence on artists and workshops active in Spain and Italy during the 17th and 18th centuries.
His artistic language—characterized by strong hallmarks of light, expressive facial features, and a raw depiction of the body—is directly linked to the naturalistic tradition developed by the Spanish master in Naples, while his reinterpretation allows us to appreciate how these models continued to circulate and take on new meanings in subsequent generations.