Jusepe de Ribera, called Lo Spagnoletto

Acquired for the present collection circa 1975.

The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has a strong recent stretcher and lining. Recent work on areas with old damage can be traced in the lining canvas behind. There is scattered casual old damage, which sometimes seems an almost invariable part of larger Neapolitan Caravaggiesque paintings, however here the crucial central areas are in virtually perfect condition. The head itself is extraordinarily well preserved, with every detailed brush stroke in the hair and beard and in the impasted furrowed brow completely intact. The powerful brushwork of the torn sleeve and the spine of the book, with much of the hands, is also in beautiful, virtually undisturbed, condition. The texture of these areas is dramatic and crisp, while some of the various old damages can be lumpy or more flattened; these are mainly near the sides and base, but often intrude inwards and cross into the middle from the sides particularly by the central stretcher bar. Fortunately missing almost entirely the key focus points of the painting. The only points at which these old tears intrude on the figure is in the hands, with a blurred retouching across one and along the knuckle of the other then crossing the arm and running down into the darkness below. There are one or two minor touches in the book. In the upper left background a narrow tear runs from near the head, widening lower down before crossing the compass and running across to the left edge, also crossing the collar and centre of the figure almost to the right shoulder. A broad loss towards the middle of the right edge joins other damages down the lower right edge. There are other slightly lumpy old damages retouched by the top left corner and down the left edge, with many other old tears in the lower dark area perhaps fairly recently retouched. The immense power of the beautifully intact central points in the painting seems to survive scarcely disturbed by such tears in the darks. This report was not done under laboratory conditions.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This impressive depiction of a philosopher, presumed to be Archimedes, dates to circa 1630 when Ribera had been working in Naples for fifteen years and was well established as the city's foremost artist.  Its origins are intricately linked to a set commissioned by Fernadno Enríque Afán de Ribera, third Duke of Alcalá (1583-1637), Viceroy of Naples (1629-31).  The Duke of  Alcalá was one of Ribera's most important and influential early patrons and in circa 1630 he is thought to have commissioned a set of philosophers from the artist, listed in the inventory made at the time of his death in 1637 of  his house in Seville.¹ The Alcalá series is presumed to be recorded in its entirety through a series of six copies previously in the Matarrazzo di Licosa collection, Naples, sold London, Christie's 21 July 1972, lots 180 and 181, 17 November 1972, lot 45 (recording the present composition) and 46 and 23 March 1973 lots 13 and 14. 

Recent attempts to reconstruct the Alcalá series has led some scholars to debate whether the original series was made up of four or six paintings.  A comprehensive study of the Alcalá inventories has only found reference to four philosophers by Ribera but judging by the stylistic cohesiveness of all six paintings from the Matarrazzo set of copies and other individual replicas of the six that have emerged on the market in recent years it is very probable that the original series did depict six philosophers: three of these have been identified as Heraclitus, Archimedes and Thales, while the other three remain unknown.  Of the many copies and studio replicas that are known only two are generally accepted to be the originals from which the Matarrazzo set of copies derive, the first being the painting of  Thales of Milesium, in a private collection in Madrid² and the second the Philosopher (Heraclitus?) sold New York, Christie's, 6 April 2006, lot 69.

The composition of the present work is known through the Matarrazzo copy as well as a number of other versions that have appeared on the market, two of which are considered to be autograph: sold New York, Sotheby's, 10 January 1991, lot 79 and New York, Christie's, 27 January 2000, lot 23.  Neither of these paintings can make a convincing claim to be the Alcalá original.  The present painting is the best and largest known autograph version so far to have emerged and as such must be considered a likely candidate for the lost painting from the celebrated series.

Judging from the Matarrazzo series Ribera carefully depicted each philosopher as a specific individual, although it is not always clear who they were intended to be.  The present composition has traditionally been identified as Archimedes, the fabled Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer.  Ribera portrays the elderly, intense figure with great humanity.  There is a stern dignity in his pose and expression: his gaunt face with wrinkled brow framed by soft white hair and his piercing stare emphasised by his strong nose and darker eyebrows which are executed with vigorous brushwork   He holds the tools of his trade, a compass, a square and leather bound book with fierce pride.  As with his other depictions of philosophers Ribera has chosen to depict Archimedes in ragged clothes against a plain dark background as if to emphasis the philosopher's disdain for the trappings of conventional life, clothing and appearance. 

Ribera returned repeatedly to the theme of philosophers throughout his career. He executed his earliest known depictions on his arrival in Rome in 1612 and after the Alcalá series in 1630 went on to paint a further series of six philosophers for Prince Karl Eusebius von Liechtenstein in 1636-7 (twelve were originally commissioned but only half the series was completed).³

1. J. Brown and R.L. Kagan, 'The Duke of Alcalá: His Collection and its Evolution' in Art Bulletin, vol. 69, 197, pp. 231-55.
2. See N. Spinosa in José de Ribera Bajo el signo de Caravaggio, exhibition catalogue, Seville 2006, no. 35.
3. C. Felton, 'Ribera's 'Philosophers' for the Prince of Liechtenstein' in The Burlington Magazine, vol. 128, 1986, pp. 785-789.