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Artist or Maker: Jusepe Ribera, Il Spagnoletto (Valencia 1591-1652 Naples)

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Provenance: With F. Rockman, New York.
Doctor Richard Krautheimer and Doctor Trude Krautheimer-Hess;
Christie's, New York, 10 January 1996, lot 59, where acquired by the present owner.

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Exhibited: New York, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, Drawings from the Collection of Mrs. Richard Krautheimer , 1961, no. 81 (as Gypsies ).
Naples, Castel Sant'Elmo, Certosa di San Martino and the Cappella del Tesoro di San Gennaro, Jusepe de Ribera 1591-1652 , 1992, no. 2.52. Madrid, Museo del Prado, Ribera 1591-1652 , 1992, no. D.64.

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Notes: PROPERTY FROM A NEW YORK PRIVATE COLLECTION (LOTS 14, 35, 79, 95 AND 144)


A woman swaddling a child is holding implements for a fire: a ladle, a poker, a shovel and a grille. Behind her is a naked child holding a girandola with a little dog.
J. Brown in his 1974 article dates the drawing to the 1640s, noting that the looser linear handling and opaque wash is characteristic of Ribera's later period, a dating accepted by M. Mena and R. Muzii (in exhib. cat., Madrid, 1992, op. cit. , p. 482).
This type of drawing executed rapidly, with simplicity of means and depicting scenes of everyday life with acute observation made a deep impression on Ribera's disciple, Salvator Rosa (1615-1673) whose numerous drawings dating fron the 1650s evince the strong influence of the Spanish master.