Portrait of a Musician
Artist: Jusepe de Ribera (Spanish, baptized in 1591, died 1652)
Date: 1638
Dimensions:
Painting: 30 3/8 × 24 5/8 in. (77.2 × 62.5 cm)
Frame: 36 1/2 × 31 × 3 in. (92.7 × 78.7 × 7.6 cm)
Medium: oil on canvas
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1926.61
Label Text:The roll of music paper in this man’s right hand suggests that he is a musician. It was once proposed that he might be Giovanni Maria Trabaci, a composer and the music director of the royal chapel in Naples where Jusepe de Ribera painted this portrait. However, in 1638, Trabaci was in his 60s, while the man in the painting appears much younger. His identity remains a mystery.
Ribera was born in the province of Valencia, Spain, but as a young man he moved to Italy—first to Rome, and then to Naples, where he remained for the rest of his life. His characteristic painting style is evident in this portrait, particularly in the face and hands. He painted with thick layers of paint, called impasto (from Italian for “paste”), using the paintbrush bristles to simulate the natural texture of skin.
Ribera was born in the province of Valencia, Spain, but as a young man he moved to Italy—first to Rome, and then to Naples, where he remained for the rest of his life. His characteristic painting style is evident in this portrait, particularly in the face and hands. He painted with thick layers of paint, called impasto (from Italian for “paste”), using the paintbrush bristles to simulate the natural texture of skin.
Not on view
In Collection(s)