Paris Hosts First Major Retrospective of Baroque Genius José de Ribera

Celebrated in Italy and Spain, yet little known in France, at least until now, thanks to a major exhibition that has opened in Paris: the first to showcase the entire evolution of José de Ribera (Játiva, 1591-Naples, 1652), also known as 'Spagnoletto' (the Little Spaniard). It has been over three decades since a significant exhibition on the Spaniard was held. The last ones were in Madrid, New York, and Naples, in the early 1990s.

A Baroque genius, an artist of extreme modernity, contemporary of Velázquez, though far less known than him, whose work the French poet and critic Théophile Gautier described in the press in 1837 as "a fury of brushstrokes, a savagery of touch, an unimaginable intoxication of blood." More than a hundred paintings, mostly large-scale, as well as drawings and engravings, including several unpublished ones, are presented together for the first time, as well as his Roman period. Arriving from all over the world, they are on display until 23 February 2025 at the Petit Palais in Paris, the municipal museum of Fine Arts in the capital of the Seine, opposite the Grand Palais, and thus close to the famous Champs-Élysées.

Just as his compatriot Zurbarán was called the Spanish Caravaggio, in his case, the admiration and influence of the Milanese will also be significant. While he is inspired by his more revolutionary facet, his art goes beyond, revealing a unique style, "more terrible, fierce, and dramatic, because he opted for an artistically revolutionary path," as noted by Annick Lemoine, curator of the exhibition and director of the Petit Palais.

In Rome, the capital of European art in the 17th century, he arrived at the age of 15 and stayed for a decade, creating around sixty extraordinary works. It is there that he finds his place and style, that of a lover of sincere painting, with theatrical gestures, dramatic appearance, and therefore the most realistic. He also does not forget irony or jest.

His mastery of chiaroscuro, which would evolve, makes the title of the Parisian exhibition, 'Ténèbres et lumière' (Shadows and Light), most pertinent. In Naples, where he spent most of his life, he married the daughter of a notable local artist, which opened more than one door for him, working for great collectors and intellectuals. At the time a Spanish territory, governed by viceroys, he felt at home there, reaching glory, as recalled in one of the fifteen rooms, in a tour where burgundy color permeates the walls.

Among the loans is 'Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene and Her Maid' (1620-1623), which comes from the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, as well as works from other Spanish institutions, such as the Prado Museum, the Thyssen, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, and the Casa de Alba Foundation in Madrid. As for Spanish private loans, the two works from the Abelló collection stand out: 'Gypsy with Kitchen Utensils, Two Children and a Dog' and 'Allegory of Smell', from the series 'The Five Senses'. In this last work, besides the chopped onion, which makes the beggar holding it cry, a noteworthy component is his tears. An impactful realism, which besides making Ribera "a great painter of tears," in Lemoine's words, reminds us of the perfection with which he paints other details, such as folds of hands and even hair.

Works of different formats, although it is the monumental paintings with great theatricality that captivate the visitor, in which religious or mythological themes, as well as particular female characters, are not lacking. For example, 'The Bearded Woman (Magdalena Ventura with Her Husband)' (1631). In it, her masculine-looking face with prominent hair contrasts with the breast nursing her baby.

"Ribera will create for Spain without ever returning to his country," reads the room 'From Naples to Spain'. Although he will not forget his homeland, where a large number of his works would end up. That of an artist who made lamentations another of his themes, as the space dedicated to these reminds us. His 'Saint Sebastian' of 1651, described by some as erotic, is the work that closes the "event exhibition," as it has been called. Indisputably, one of the most important in the current French scene.