JUSEPE DE RIBERA - Art Solutionnewmedia.artsolution.net/media/LeSphinxLephoto/ObjectDocuments/... · produced by Jusepe de ribera and his studio during the 1630s. The origin ... with

n this striking, recently re-discovered work, Thales of Miletus, a figure often regarded as the first philosopher, glances up from his work to meet the viewer’s gaze. despite his neatly cropped hair and beard, he is dressed in layers of ragged and torn cloths. he has been studying the scroll of paper in his left hand, upon which

are numerous geometrical diagrams, and his right hand rests upon an hour glass. Although the room is dark, an intense light floods in from the left hand side. This expert modelling of light helps give elements, such as the scroll, an almost tangible quality, whilst the brilliantly rendered right sleeve feels almost sculptural.

The present work is one of numerous ‘beggar-philospher’ pictures produced by Jusepe de ribera and his studio during the 1630s. The origin of these works relate to a commission undertaken by ribera for don Fernando enríquez Afán de ribera, 3rd duke of Alcalá (1583-1637), see figure 1, when the latter was viceroy of naples between 1629 and 1632. The commission was for a series depicting philosophers from antiquity, and such was the success of the series, because of the originality of the works and the prestige of the duke of Alcalá, that numerous replicas were commissioned from ribera and his studio. Perhaps the most notable of these replicas are a series of six commissioned directly from ribera by Prince karl eusebius von liechtenstein (1611-1684) in 1636.¹

The original Alcalá series has long been dispersed, and scholars continue to try to discern the originals from the numerous replicas by ribera and his studio. Although previously unaware of the present work, Professor nicola spinosa believes that it may have formed part of this original Alcalá series. Prior to the present work’s rediscovery, he has always proposed that a work

formerly with the galeria caylus in Madrid, was the most likely candidate for the primary version of Thales (fig. 2).² however, there are significant discrepancies between the size of the caylus version and other works thought

JUSEPE DE RIBERA (Játiva, Valencia 1591 - Naples 1652)

The Philosopher Thales

oil on canvas126 x 94 cm (50 x 37 in)

Provenance: Probably commissioned by don Fernando enríquez Afán de ribera, 3rd duke of Alcalá and viceroy of naples (1583-1637);Maria letizia Bonaparte, ‘Madame Mère’ (1750-1836), Palazzo Bonaparte, via del corso, rome;

with her collection acquired en bloc by John talbot, 16th earl of shrewsbury (1791-1852), Alton towers, staffordshire, 1829; by whom bequeathed to his cousin Bertram Arthur talbot, 17th earl of shrewsbury (1832-1856), Alton towers, staffordshire; his posthumous sale, christie’s, on the premises, 8 July 1857 (2nd day), lot 164, ‘Archimedes, capitally painted’ (£8-18s-6d);

where purchased by John Upton gaskell (1804-1883), ingersley hall, cheshire;by descent to Ann Theodora gaskell (1844-1923), ingersley hall, cheshire;

purchased in 1933 by denys eyre Bower (1905-1977), crich, and chiddingstone castle, kent (from 1955);sotheby’s, london, old Master Paintings and drawings, 26th February 1958, lot 32, as ‘Archimedes’ (unsold);

christie's, london, old Master Pictures, 5th August 1977, lot 121 (unsold) denys eyre Bower Bequest, chiddingstone castle, kent.

Exhibited: on loan to the derby Art gallery, derbyshire, 1938-1952.

Literature: rhodes, ebenezer, The Derbyshire Tourist’s Guide and Travelling Companion (london, 1837), p. 271;waagen, gustav Friedrich, Works of Art and Artists in England (John Murray, london, 1838), vol. iii, p.254;

waagen, gustav Friedrich, Treasures of Art in Great Britain (John Murray, london, 1854), vol iii, p.385;Derby Evening Telegraph, Thursday, March 24, 1938, p. 6;

A Short Guide to Chiddingstone Castle and Its Collections (1973), p. 14.

“western philosophy begins with thales”- Bertrand russell, The History of Western Philosophy, 1945

i

¹ Felton, c., ‘ribera’s ‘Philosophers’ for the Prince of liechtenstein’, in The Burlington Magazine (vol. 128, no. 1004, november 1986), pp. 785-789. this commission was originally for twelve philosophers, but ribera only completed six and so this series lacks a depiction of thales.

Medal of Don Fernando Enríquez Afán de Ribera, 3rd Duke of Alcalá (1583-1637), 1630, Museo Arqueológico nacional, Madrid (Figure 1)

² spinosa, n., Ribera: l’Opera Completa (naples, 2006), p. 296, no. A89.

to have formed the original Alcalá series. For example, the caylus Thales measures 117.5 x 95 cm, whereas The getty Museum’s Euclid, see figure 3, or the unknown philosopher in the kress collection, both of which spinosa thinks were probably part of the Alcalá series, measure 124.9 x 92.1 cm and 129 x 91 cm, respectively.³ The present work measures a comparable 126 x 94 cm, and this, taken in conjunction with its exceptional quality, suggests that it may well be the primary and original version of Thales. This theory is given further credence by a recent examination of the work using infra red photography, which revealed that ribera made some changes to the composition as he worked, particularly in the right hand and left shoulder, and there is evidence of drawing lines in some areas of the face. These type of late changes suggest that the present work may have been ribera’s first rendering of the composition of, and therefore part of the original Alcalá series.

The debate over the reconstruction of this series is a complicated one, and even extends to how many works the original series consisted of. in their studies of Alcalá’s inventory, Jonathan Brown and richard kagan found reference to four philosophers by ribera.⁴ however, the inventory is frustratingly vague in places and there are several other works recorded that could well have ribera philosophers. other scholars have argued that a series of six, formerly in the collection of conte Matarazzo di locosa, provide

an accurate visual record of the Alcalá series, whereas spinosa believes that ribera painted twelve originals.⁵

in addition to the present work and the caylus Thales, there are several further versions of the composition recorded, including an autograph work in a Parisian private collection,⁶ a work formerly in the collection of oscar Falkman,⁷ two inferior copies, one of which is in the scottish national gallery, as attributed to Pietro novelli,⁸ and another recorded in the collection of the earl of wemyss, as galileo.⁹

The 3rd duke of Alcalá was part of the most important collecting family of seville, at a time when the city was one of europe’s greatest centres of learning and wealth, the gateway for all spanish trade with the American colonies. successive generation of the family had filled their ancestral home, the famed casa de Pilatos, with an extraordinary collection of tapestries, holy relics, ancient coins, books and antique sculptures. Fernando enríquez, the 3rd duke, expanded the casa de Pilatos to include a new library and picture gallery, with ceiling decorations by Francisco Pacheco (1564-1644), who also advised him on his art purchases. The duke was sent to rome in 1625 as spanish Ambassador to the Papacy, where he may first have encountered ribera’s art in prominent roman collections. on his arrival in naples in 1629, Alcalá became one of the artist’s main clients, commissioning, amongst other works, the famous depiction of a bearded woman in Magdalena Ventura with her Husband and Son (Museo Fondación duque de lerma, toledo) and the series of Twelve Philosophers to which the present painting may have belonged. The duke returned to spain in 1631, and Pacheco writes almost reverentially of the newly acquired collection of riberas, saying ‘such is Jusepe de ribera’s manner of painting that among all the great paintings owned by the duke of Alcalá his figures and heads appear alive, while the rest seem only painted’.¹⁰

in the early part of the nineteenth-century the painting was in the collection of Maria letizia Bonaparte (1751-1836), mother of napoleon, often known as ‘Madame Mère’. letizia was born in corsica, and married carlo Bonaparte when she was thirteen. her husband died when she was thirty-five, but they had thirteen children, many of whom were created monarchs by her eldest son napoleon. After napoleon’s ascendance to power she was declared ‘Madame Mère de l’empereur’, and she moved to rome in 1815. here she lived in the Palazzo d’Aste-Bonaparte, and was chiefly accompanied by her younger brother, cardinal Joseph Fesch (1763-1839), himself a famous art collector. where exactly she acquired the present work from is less clear. Much of her collection came to her from another of her sons lucien (1775-1840), a discerning but extremely active collector. however, the present work does not occur in lucien’s 1808 inventory, or in any of the famous sales of his pictures held in 1814, 1815 and 1816.¹¹ nicholas turner suggests that lucien may have purchased paintings after 1816 which he then passed onto his mother, but at present this remains speculative.¹²

in 1829 John talbot, 16th earl of shrewsbury (1791-1852) visited rome and purchased almost the whole of Madame Mère’s collection (the remainder, mostly family portraits, were left to cardinal Fesch). The earl of shrewsbury hung his newly acquired collection in Alton towers, the stately home his father had begun building in 1801, where it was seen by the famous art historian gustav Friedrich waagen (1794-1868), who described the present work as ‘of powerful effect and great excellence in the execution’.¹³ Alton

³ ibid., no. A88 and A87.⁴ Brown, J. & kagan, r. l., ‘the duke of Alcalá: his collection and its evolution’ in The Art Bulletin, vol. 69, no. 2 (June 1987), pp. 231-255.⁵ spinosa, 2006, p. 293.⁶ ibid., 2006., p.297.⁷ sold christie’s, london, 15th July 1977, lot 16 as Pythagoras.⁸ ng 83.⁹ see Neopolitan Baroque and Rococo Paintings, exh. cat. Barnard castle, 1962, ed. t. e. waterhouse.

Jusepe de ribera, Thales, Private collection (Figure 2)

¹⁰ Pacheco, F. Arte de la Pintura, 1649, ed. Bonaventura Bassegoda i hugas (cátedra, Madrid, 1990) p. 441. ¹¹ there is one ribera painting of Archimedes recorded in lucien Bonaparte’s collection, but an engraving reveals this to be the painting today in the worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts (inv. no. 1925.116).¹² turner, n., in laing, A. (ed.), Cleric and Connoisseurs: The Reverend Matthew Pilkington, the Cobbe Family and the Fortunes of an Irish Art Collection through Three Centuries, (london, 2001), p.239.¹³ waagen, g. F., Works of Art and Artists in England (John Murray, london, 1838), vol. iii, p.254.

towers and its collections were inherited in 1852 by the 16th earl’s cousin, Bertram talbot (1832-1856). however, the 17th earl died just four years later, leaving no direct heirs, and the contents of the house were soon sold at an enormous auction held on the premises in 1857.

The present work was purchased at the Alton towers sale by John Upton gaskell (1804-1883) of ingersley hall, cheshire and passed by descent until 1933 when it was acquired by denys eyre Bower (1905-1977), an antiques collector and dealer. in 1955 Bower purchased chiddingstone castle in kent in order to display his extensive and varied collection to the public. when he died Bower left chiddingstone and its contents as a public museum, where the present work has remained, unrecognised and unrecorded.

The identification of the various philosophers has long been a matter of debate amongst scholars. The vast majority of the paintings bear no inscription, but as delphine Fitz darby has written ‘they had properties no less carefully selected than were the distinguishing symbols of the saints. Apparently these attributes were intended to identify the historical persons whom the artist was charged to revive for the delectation of erudite patrons...no doubt the

Philosophers could be named by their original owners, but, passing from one collection to another...they ceased to be easily recognizable’.¹⁴ luckily the depictions of Thales and Archimedes are the two philosophers that can be most securely identified. This is because although the original paintings bear no inscriptions, another version of each, both of which were previously in the Marquis de remisa’s collection, have inscriptions identifying the subject.¹⁵

The two attributes Thales holds in the present work would reinforce this identification. on the scroll are various geometrical diagrams. Thales used geometry to solve problems such as calculating the height of pyramids and the distance of ships from the shore. due to Thales’ Theorem he has also been hailed as the first true mathematician and is the first known individual to whom a mathematical discovery has been attributed.¹⁶ charles g. salas has demonstrated, in a discussion of the getty’s Euclid, that although ‘ribera’s geometrical lettering is incomplete, imprecise, and sometimes bizarre...The diagrams, by contrast, are carefully drawn and identifiable’.¹⁷ in this context it is interesting to note that the middle diagram on Thales’ scroll could relate to Thales’ Theorem being used to construct a tangent.

The other attribute Thales holds is the hourglass, a common symbol of death. For several of his philosopher portraits, it is believed that ribera drew upon diogenes laërtius’ Lives of the Eminent Philosphers of Antiquity.¹⁸ in his passage on Thales’ life, diogenes says the following: ‘he held there was no difference between life and death. “why then,” said one, “do you not die?” “Because,” said he, “there is no difference.”’¹⁹ The light touch with which Thales handles the symbol of death seems to reflect this almost indifferent attitude to his mortality.

Portrayals of ‘beggar philosophers’ were a genre in their own right, which was already flourishing at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Although artists as diverse as Peter Paul rubens (1577-1640) and salvator rosa (1615-1673) produced these ‘beggar philosopher’ portraits, it was ribera who had the most success in the genre. steven n. orso describes the type as ‘rough, plebeian figures, dressed in tattered garments, pursuing their intellectual inquiries with neither benefit of, nor concern for, material comforts of any sort’.²⁰ These series responded to a widespread tradition throughout catholic europe, in particular concerning trends of an ethical nature and the social remits of ‘neo-stoic’ doctrines drawn up above all in roman circles and based on a review and adaptation of the recent christian ‘counter-reformation’ tenets of the philosophical currents of the ancient stoicism of greek origin. For example if we consider the Prado’s version of Democritus, see figure 4, the importance of the teachings of seneca become apparent. when describing democritus’ development into a beggar philosopher, seneca says that ‘democritus, considering riches to be a burden to the virtuous mind, renounced them’.²¹ This follows the central theme of stoicism, that the virtuous man lives in harmony with nature, achieving virtue by cultivating reason and developing the fortitude and self-control necessary to resist being distracted by destructive emotions. Things not essential to living in accordance with nature were considered unnecessary and in poverty a beggar philosopher could exercise the logic and good judgment that would enable him to virtuously overcome emotion and temptation.

The present work is an excellent example of these ‘beggar philosopher’ works, notable for its exceptional quality. in some of the series, there is a more sombre mood. some of the philosophers, such as Archimedes do not

¹⁴ Fitz darby, d., ‘ribera and the wise Men’ in The Art Bulletin, vol. 44. no. 4 (dec., 1962), pp. 280-281.¹⁵ For an illustration of the inscribed version of Thales see spinosa, 2006, p. 297. For Archimedes see, spinosa, N., Ribera: La Opra Completa (Madrid, 2008), p. 366, no. A104 .¹⁶ Boyer, c. B., A History of Mathematics, (new york, 1991), p. 43. ¹⁷ salas, c. g., ‘elements of a ribera’, in Getty Research Journal, no. 1, 2009, p.17.

¹⁸ Pérez sánchez, A. e. and christiansen, e., ‘Aristotle’, in Jusepe de Ribera: 1591-1652, exh. cat. eds. Pérez sánchez, A. e., & spinosa, n. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, new york, 1992), p.116, no. 40.¹⁹ Diogenes Laërtius’ Lives of the Eminent Philosphers of Antiquity, trans. robert drew hicks (harvard University Press, 1942, 1: 35.²⁰ orso, s. n., ‘on ribera and the “Beggar Philosophers”’ in Art in Spain and the Hispanic World, ed. schroth, s. (london, 2010), p. 87.²¹ seneca, De Providentia, vi, 2.

Jusepe de ribera, Euclid¸c. 1630-1635, J. Paul getty Museum, california (Figure 3)

meet the viewer’s eye, whereas others, such as Crates, see figure 5, appear stern and severe, as he glares at the viewer from the gloom. in contrast Thales comes across as an appealing figure, as he invites the viewer to share in his thoughts. such is the quality of execution, that the present painting is a valuable and exciting addition to the series. As Felton has said ‘Through his creative and technical genius, ribera has realised in this series of Philosophers, images of great power and individuality’.²²

The famed ribera was born the second son of a shoemaker in valencia. he may have studied with the city’s leading artist, Francisco ribalta (c.1565-1628), but the documentation of his early life is sketchy and imprecise. By 1611 his presence was recorded in Parma, two years later, at the age of twenty-one, he was in rome attending the Accademia di s. luca. so precocious was his talent, that an early biographer, giulio Mancini, suggests that it was the jealously of the local artists which prompted him to leave Parma for rome. here he encountered the paintings of carravagio, the most important artist working in that city, whose naturalism and dramatic lighting had a clear and significant impact on the spaniard’s style.

in 1616, ribera moved to naples where he spent the rest of his life. his reputation was quickly secured in naples and he began executing commissions for important patrons such as cosimo ii, grand duke of tuscany and the viceroy of naples, the 3rd duque de osuna. ribera became renowned as an engraver as well as a painter and achieved considerable financial success in both media. Throughout the following decades his prestige grew and he was awarded major commissions in naples and elsewhere. several of his paintings were sent to spain and although ribera never returned to his homeland, he strongly identified as a spanish artist, frequently signing his paintings ‘hispanus’. in the 1640s, his health began to deteriorate and he fell into economic difficulties. ribera continued to paint, with the assistance of a large workshop, until his death in 1652. he exerted considerable influence in italy and spain and was known through his paintings and prints as far as central and northern europe. his students included Francesco Fracanzano (1612-1656), Aniello Falcone (1607-1656), salvator rosa (1615-1673) and luca giordano (c.1632-1705) and his work directly inspired many others.

we are grateful to Professor nicola spinosa, who has confirmed the attribution to ribera, and states that "...because of its dimensions [it] may be the original that was part of the series painted for Alcala when he was the viceroy in naples."

Jusepe de ribera, Democritus, c. 1630, The Prado, Madrid (Figure 4)

Jusepe de ribera, Crates, 1636, The national Museum of western Art, tokyo (Figure 5)

²² Felton, p. 789.