Ribera: Art of Violence

by Xavier Bray, Edward Payne

The Spanish Baroque artist and printmaker, Jusepe de Ribera (1591–1652), has long been celebrated for his depictions of human suffering—faces contorted in pain, mutilated bodies, sagging flesh, and deformed bodies. This new volume explores, for the first time, the theme of violence in Ribera's work to demonstrate how his images are neither the product of his supposed sadism nor the expression of a purely aesthetic interest, but rather involve a complex artistic, religious and cultural engagement in the depiction of bodily suffering, challenging visitors to look beyond the shocking imagery.

Born in Játiva, Valencia, Ribera spent most of his career in Naples, southern Italy, where he influenced many Neapolitan masters including Salvator Rosa and Luca Giordano. He is often regarded as the heir to Caravaggio for his dramatic use of light and shadow, and his practice of painting directly from the live model. His prints and paintings alike had an enormous impact on the development of Baroque art all over Europe.

Genres: Art

156 pages, Hardcover

Published November 20, 2018

About the author

Xavier Bray is chief curator at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Manuela Mena Marques is chief curator of 18th-century paintings at the Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Reviews

[Regina Andreassen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adequate yet somewhat repetitive. Some of the information given as well as certain definitions were repeated at least thrice! Because of that, this book is not as a cohesive as it could have been, rather, it reads as a compilation of one or two pages writings/short essays/descriptions written independently and which were assembled to create this book. For example, the authors made sure to remind us a few times what the torture known as The Strappado entailed and why Ribera was inspired by it, yet defining The Strappado once would have sufficed.

One of the pros: The illustrations were of good quality and showed all details very well, but I would have liked to see more illustrations of Ribera’s paintings.

As a whole this is a satisfactory book, especially if read by someone who has just started reading about Ribera. If you like Ribera and enjoyed this book, then please, don’t just stop after this book. Learn more about Ribera by buying better books.