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Jusepe de Ribera (Spanish, 1591-1652, active in Naples from 1616)
St. John the Baptist, about 1624
Oil on canvas, 70 5/8 x 50 7/8 in. (179.3 x 129.2 cm.)
Purchased with funds from the State of North Carolina, 52.9.183
Like other artists working in Naples in the seventeenth century, Ribera was profoundly influenced by the Italian baroque painter Caravaggio. The strong chiaroscuro (contrasts of light and dark) of this St. John is derived from Caravaggio's works. The Bapt ist gazes out at us and points to the lamb, in reference to his words (recorded in John 1:29): "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." His long reed cross foreshadows the Crucifixion. By the turn of the seventeenth century, Naples was the second largest city in Europe after Paris, and one of the most important artistic centers on the Italian peninsula. Since the early sixteenth century, the city and the surrounding region had been under Spanish dominion. The wealth and culture of the royal court and the aristocracy attracted artists from all over Europe, particularly from Rome and Spain.
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