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Lot Essay
This picture is a studio version of the Lamentation that Ribera painted for the high altar of the church of Las Agustinas Recoletas de Monterrey, Salamanca, that is signed and dated 1634. The present picture differs from this in that it omits the arched top of the Salamanca work, and the base of the cross (just visible on the right) is here placed slightly higher up.
As pointed out in the Thyssen Museum exhibition catalogue, despite its uneven condition, parts of the picture, including the faces of the Virgin and Christ, are of 'grandisima calidad'. Very little is known about the students who worked in Ribera's studio - the only one who is documented is Orazio d'Alti, who collaborated with the master from the 1630s. It is also very possible that Ribera's brother, Juan, as well as Antonio Giordano, father of the artist Luca, practised in his studio.
Gonzalo de Ulloa y Ortega-Montañes, Conde de Adanero, was one of the greatest Spanish collectors of the 19th Century. He acquired a palace at Cuesta de la Vega, across from the Palacio Real in Madrid, to house his collection, which included works by Velázquez, Goya and El Greco, as well as important tapestries and furniture.
As pointed out in the Thyssen Museum exhibition catalogue, despite its uneven condition, parts of the picture, including the faces of the Virgin and Christ, are of 'grandisima calidad'. Very little is known about the students who worked in Ribera's studio - the only one who is documented is Orazio d'Alti, who collaborated with the master from the 1630s. It is also very possible that Ribera's brother, Juan, as well as Antonio Giordano, father of the artist Luca, practised in his studio.
Gonzalo de Ulloa y Ortega-Montañes, Conde de Adanero, was one of the greatest Spanish collectors of the 19th Century. He acquired a palace at Cuesta de la Vega, across from the Palacio Real in Madrid, to house his collection, which included works by Velázquez, Goya and El Greco, as well as important tapestries and furniture.