Attributed to José de Ribera and workshop

Attributed JOSÉ DE RIBERA (Xátiva, Valencia, 1591 - Naples, 1652) and workshop.
"Saint John the Baptist".
Oil on canvas. Relined in the nineteenth century.
It presents restorations in the pictorial surface.
It has a frame with molding of the seventeenth century.
Measurements: 197 x 127 cm.
This painting represents San Juan Bautista as a young man, dressed with a tunic that leaves part of his torso uncovered. He appears seated next to a tree and holding a staff or wooden rod in his right hand. His face shows a soft and contemplative expression, directed towards the viewer, as he observes or interacts with a lamb. The background presents a clear sky with clouds and some mountains, suggesting a serene and pastoral atmosphere.
Stylistically, the work relates to the aesthetics of the Spanish painter José de Ribera, known for his treatment of chiaroscuro and the emotional intensity of his figures. In fact, it follows the model of a painting attributed to Ribera in the collection of the Prado Museum, painted by the Valencian artist in 1641. The Prado painting, very similar to this one, was part of a series of four works featuring saints in a pastoral setting. The taste for this theme and the quality of the work probably generated a high demand for this religious cycle. Influenced by the tenebrism of Caravaggio, Ribera often used dramatic lighting and marked hallmarks between light and shadow. Although this painting presents softer hallmarks and less intense expressions, it reflects aspects of Ribera's realism in the detailed representation of the natural elements, such as the tree and the lamb, as well as in the human anatomy. In addition, the pastoral scene could be linked to religious or mystical themes, common in Ribera's work, although generally with a more somber and expressive tone.
José de Ribera, nicknamed the Españoleto, was a key master of the Spanish Baroque and, in general, of the history of European art. Although no documentary sources or evidence of his youth are preserved, it is believed that he trained with Francisco Ribalta in Valencia. Later, he went to Italy, first to the north and then to Rome, where he learned first-hand about the classicists and the tenebrism of the Dutch artists based there. Finally, he settled in Naples in 1616, beginning his period of maturity and splendor. Ribera achieved fame, directed a large workshop, and his works spread throughout Europe through engravings. He worked for viceroys and high Spanish officials settled in Naples, which facilitated that many of his works arrived quickly to Spain. His renown was such in his native country that Velázquez himself visited him in 1630. Today, works by Ribera are kept in the Prado Museum, the Louvre, the Capodimonte Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Kunsthistorisches and Liechtenstein in Vienna, the J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan in New York, the National Gallery and the Royal Collection in London, the Borghese Gallery in Rome and other prominent art galleries in Europe, America and Asia.