Oil painting on canvas, Riberesc painting depicting St. Jerome, 17th Century. Circle of Jusepe Ribera known as ...

Oil painting on canvas, Riberesc painting depicting St. Jerome, 17th Century. Circle of Jusepe Ribera known as "Spagnoletto" (Xàtiva 1591 – Napoli 1652). Cm 78.5 x 64.5 -. A true masterpiece. 

In this work, the Caravaggesque naturalism, rendered with rigor in a meticulous manner, especially in the realization of the real datum of the character and of his physical construction, is enriched at the same time by a psychological datum, guilty by the look and gesture of the hand with the finger indicating. All this generates an expressly communicative and not only formal thought. The dense and compact but at the same time fluid pictorial mixture naturally welcomes a simplicity that becomes primary and necessary to give greater strength, and to underline the psychological and spiritual data of the character. The figuration focuses everything on the Saint's gaze and face, which makes it all vibrant by a communication of thought, excluding an artificial attitude. In this way, the Valencian expertly manages to combine a vigorous Caravaggesque naturalism with an intense and expressive portraiture, originating an emotional and vibrant communication.
The work may have been done around 1618/20.
Provenance: Gironda D'Amico collection
From family inheritance deriving from the progenitor Bernardo Gironda, (1580 Naples, 1690) 19th Baron of Naples.