81 - JOSÉ DE RIBERA

JOSÉ DE RIBERA Jativa 1591 - Naples 1652 Immaculate Conception as a Child. 1649 Oil on canvas Signed and dated Dimensions 75 x 61 cm Provenance: - Private collection, Madrid. Previously unpublished in studies on José de Ribera, this delicate representation of the Virgin Mary as a child in prayer, surrounded by cherubs against a golden halo, is an interesting example of the Spanish master's religious output during his mature period in Naples. The Virgin, dressed in a white tunic and blue mantle, adopts a distinctly devotional iconography, linked to the models of the Immaculate Conception. The face with its soft features, the warm flesh tones, and the treatment of the hair and the winged heads of the cherubs show affinities with other works by Ribera from the 1640s, including the Penitent Magdalene (1641) and the Immaculate Conception in the Prado Museum, dated 1647. The composition also fits within the context of Ribera's later period, characterized by numerous single-figure, medium-sized paintings intended for private devotion. During these years, the artist produced important Marian compositions, such as the Immaculate Conception of 1646 for the Royal Palace of Naples. The attribution has been studied by Professor Viviana Farina, whose initial stylistic assessment has been reinforced by the microscopic study of the signature, which confirms its autograph nature and allows for the ratification of the date 1649. The work also includes an extensive technical and analytical study carried out by Icono I & R (Madrid).