Galerie Paul Prouté

Jusepe de Ribera was born in Xàtiva, south of Valencia. It was there that he is thought to have studied under the painter Francisco Ribalta (1565–1628). Ribera left Spain for Italy in 1611. He first stayed in Parma, where he discovered the art of Correggio. In 1616, he was enrolled at the Academy of Saint Luke in Rome. It was in the Italian capital that he is thought to have learned the basics of etching. That same year, he left Rome for Naples, where he remained until his death.

Ribera’s career as a printmaker was relatively brief. He produced most of his prints before 1630, with the majority dating from the 1620s. His work as a painter occupied most of his time, although he nevertheless produced the Equestrian Portrait of Don Juan José of Austria in 1648. A relatively unprolific printmaker, only eighteen prints are now attributed to him with certainty.