Ribera, a prolific draftsman who spent most of his career in Naples, is known for his engaging, caricature-like drawings. Here, a bald man gazing toward the viewer is surmounted by a small figure who holds a banner as if he has conquered a summit. The banner is inscribed with the name Niccolò Simonelli, a Roman collector, patron, and amateur art dealer. The significance of the inscription is not clear. We do not know if Ribera knew Simonelli or if the inscription indicates that Simonelli owned this drawing. The banner might even have been a later addition, and the small man originally may have held only the pole.
Artwork Details
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Title:Man Wearing a Large Cloak and a Small Naked Man on His Head
Artist:Jusepe de Ribera (called Lo Spagnoletto) (Spanish, Játiva 1591–1652 Naples)
Date:ca. 1637–40
Medium:Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash (recto). Lined with a very thin sheet of paper (verso)
Dimensions:8 3/8 x 3 15/16 in. (21.2 x 10.0 cm)
Classification:Drawings
Credit Line:Harry G. Sperling Fund, 1981
Accession Number:1981.395
Inscription: Inscribed in pen and brown ink on banner, "NICOLO SIMONELLI"; on verso, "Simonelli". Backing masks several annotations in faded pen and brown ink on verso, only "Simonelli" and "7020" are legible.
Nicolò Simonelli; Sotheby's, London- sale April 9, 1981, no. 89, repr. p. 45; Moss
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Spain: Drawings, Prints and Photographs," April 18–July 16, 1989.
The Frick Collection, New York. "The Spanish Manner: Drawings from Ribera to Goya," October 5, 2010–January 9, 2011.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Selections from the Department of Drawings and Prints: Hidden and Displayed," November 1, 2018–January 27, 2019.
Jonathan Brown Jusepe de Ribera, lo Spagnoletto. 1591-1652. Exh. cat., Fort Worth (Texas), Kimbell Art Museum, 1982. Fort Worth, Texas, 1982, fig. no. fig. 102, p. 85, ill.
Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez, Nicola Spinosa Jusepe de Ribera 1591-1652 Exh. cat., September 18 - November 29, 1992. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. New York, 1992, fig. no. ill. p. 114, p. 224, ill.
Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez, Nicola Spinosa Ribera 1591-1652 Exh. cat., Madrid, Museo del Prado, June 2 - August 16, 1992. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 1992, p. 43.
Lubomír Konecný "An Unexpected Source for Jusepe de Ribera" in Source. vol. 13, no. 2, Winter 1994, fig. no. fig. 1, pp. 21-24, ill.
Mark P. McDonald "Ribera's Earliest Drawing?." Master Drawings. Vol. 37, no. 4, 1999, p. 371, n. 16.
Jonathan Brown, Lisa A. Banner, A. Schulz et al. The Spanish Manner: Drawings from Ribera to Goya. Exh. cat., The Frick Collection, New York (October 5, 2010 - January 9, 2011). New York, 2010, pp. 36-37, no. 8 (entry by Jonathan Brown), ill.
Viviana Farina Al sole e all'ombra di Ribera. Questioni di pittura e disegno a Napoli nella prima metà del Seicento. Castellammare di Stabia (Naples), 2014, pp. 50, 61, 63, fig. 39 (dated to 1620–30).
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