Prado rediscovers early Ribera
Painter's youthful period remains a great unknown in his native Spain
The odyssey of The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence ? a most striking canvas, which will be attracting all eyes in the Prado museum from today onward ? is a perfect metaphor for the roundabout journey endured by the reputation of the artist who created it, José de Ribera, El Españoleto, (Xátiva, Valencia, 1591-Nápoles, 1652). Ribera painted it in around 1615. Its production was perfectly documented, but it later disappeared without trace.
Now, having been located and restored by El Pilar in Zaragoza, the painting has been welcomed at El Prado with honors and has attracted the magical aura that surrounds previously unseen masterpieces. In fact almost all of the 32 pieces that comprise El Joven Ribera fall into this category, the Prado owning just one piece from El Españoleto's early work ? The Resurrection of Lazarus ? which it purchased in 2001 for 2.5 million euros.
Yet unlike many other artists, Ribera's early work is considered just as significant as his later productions, of which the Madrid gallery owns around 50.
"When the museum bought The Resurrection of Lazarus in 2001, no more than half a dozen paintings from his Roman period had been located. Right now we are up to 50," says the show's curator Javier Portús. "Many were catalogued as anonymous because he did not always sign his work, and even when he did, doubts persisted. A group of experts has gradually certified what used to be no more than attributions."
El Españoleto's early style focuses on religious works with groups of characters emerging from darkness, and with the light centering on one or two figures only, in best Caravaggio fashion (Ribera was familiar with his work, although he never met him personally). There is a predominant presence of men over women, and the male nude is used as a field for emotional experimentation, especially of violence. Ribera's early work also reveals an interest in science (La vista reproduces a telescope for the first time) and for knowledge in general.
El Joven Ribera. From Until July 31 at Museo del Prado, Paseo del Prado, Madrid. www.museodelprado.es
