After Jusepe De Ribera
Naples, Italy, 17th century
17th c. Old Master Drawing of the Mourning of Christ (Lamentation)
ink on paper
An original old master drawing, likely from 17th c. Naples and closely following the work of the Spanish master Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652) who was active in Rome and later Spanish-governed Naples. Sometime before 1624 Ribera made an etching of the Lamentation of Christ (or: the Mourning of Christ), a common subject popularly designed in Italy from the 11th c. and probably most famously painted by Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua in 1305. The scene depicts the moment immediately after Jesus? Crucifixion when his body has been lowered from the Cross and laid upon the ground; and the base of the cross and ladder can be seen on the left of the design. The moment is captured as the body of Jesus is surrounded by his parents, disciples and friends?and here we see his parents (Mary and Joseph) embracing one another in sorrow as they look over the body of their son while Mary Magdalene leans over him, holds one of his feet and is about to kiss it. Heavily influenced by the realistic work of Caravaggio and his use of street models, Ribera also turned into a master of Christian pathos who modelled his characters after the poor of Rome and Naples. Ribera was also clearly influenced by Giotto's depictions of heavily draped and deeply mourning women within the Scrovegni Chapel; and it is known that Ribera visited Padua (in 1611) where he certainly would have studied Giotto's work. Ribera?s original work (on view at the National Gallery in Prague) was closely emulated by other Italian masters, including Lodovico Mattioli and the unknown master who made this drawing of it. The artists? initials might be: mmcl, as seen in the right foreground. For more on Ribera, see Jonathan Brown: Jusepe de Ribera: Prints and Drawings.
12" x 8 1/2"