Prophets and Patriarchs is a series of fourteen oil on canvas paintings produced between 1638 and 1643 by Jusepe de Ribera along the nave walls of the church of the Certosa di San Martino in Naples, where they still hang. [1] Moses and Elijah hang behind the west facade, whilst the rest hang under the arches of the side chapels. [1] [2]
The work was one of a set of commissions from Ribera by the Certosa beginning in 1638 [2] and also included a Pietà for the sacristy (moved to its current home in the sala del Tesoro Nuovo at the end of the 17th century [2] ), The Last Supper for the choir and Saint Jerome , Saint Sebastian and Saint Bruno Receiving the Rule for the prior's private quarters, for a total commission of around 2,160 ducats. [3] He was paid 80 ducats per canvas in the set of twelve works in the side chapels and 50 ducats each for the two on the facade. [4] Moses, Elijah and Noah were the first of the fourteen to be completed, with the others finished in the following five years - the last payment receipt was signed at the end of 1643 and eight of them are initially "J.R." in the bottom corner. [1]
| Image | Title | Year | Dimensions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Moses | 1638 | 168 × 97 cm | Signed and dated «Jusepe de Ribera espanol / F. 1638». |
 | Elijah | 1638 | 168 × 97 cm | Signed and dated «Jusepe de Ribera espanol / F. 1638». |
 | Haggai | 1638-1643 | 272 × 252 cm | |
 | Noah | 1638 | 271 × 254 cm | Signed and dated«Jusepe de / Ribera es / panol / F. / 1638». |
 | Joel | 1638-1639 | 270 × 252 cm | Initialled and dated «J.R.a 163...». [lower-alpha 1] |
 | Amos | 1640 | 272 × 256 cm | Initialled and dated «J.R.a 1640». |
 | Obadiah | 1638-1643 | 270 × 266 cm | |
 | Hosea | 1638-1643 | 270 × 254 cm | Initialled «J.R.a». |
 | Habakkuk | 1638-1643 | 267 × 236 cm | Initialled «J.R.a». |
 | Zephaniah | 1638-1643 | 266 × 236 cm | Initialled «J.R.a». |
 | Daniel | 1638-1643 | 267 × 236 cm | Initialled «J.R.a». |
 | Jonah | 1638-1643 | 276 × 236 cm | Initialled «J.R.a». |
 | Micah | 1638-1643 | 268 × 243 cm | Siglato «J.R.». |
 | Ezekiel | 1638-1643 | 271 × 251 cm |
Jusepe de Ribera was a Spanish painter and printmaker. Ribera, Francisco de Zurbarán, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and the singular Diego Velázquez, are regarded as the major artists of Spanish Baroque painting. Referring to a series of Ribera exhibitions held in the late 20th century, Philippe de Montebello wrote "If Ribera's status as the undisputed protagonist of Neapolitan painting had ever been in doubt, it was no longer. Indeed, to many it seemed that Ribera emerged from these exhibitions as not simply the greatest Neapolitan artist of his age but one of the outstanding European masters of the seventeenth century." Jusepe de Ribera has also been referred to as José de Ribera, Josep de Ribera, and Lo Spagnoletto by his contemporaries, early historians, and biographers.
Cosimo Fanzago was an Italian architect and sculptor, generally considered the greatest such artist of the Baroque period in Naples, Italy.
Giovanni Battista Caracciolo (1578–1635) was an Italian artist and important Neapolitan follower of Caravaggio. He was a member of the murderous Cabal of Naples, with Belisario Corenzio and Giambattista Caracciolo, who were rumoured to have poisoned and disappeared their competition for painting contracts.
Pietà is painting of 1637 by the Spanish artist Jusepe de Ribera, produced for the Tesoro Nuovo chapel in the Certosa di San Martino in Naples, where it still hangs.
Saint Andrew is an early painting by Jusepe de Ribera, now in the Quadreria dei Girolamini in Naples. It shows Andrew the Apostle with his diagonal cross behind him.
Penitent Magdalene is a 1618-1623 oil on canvas painting by Jusepe de Ribera, now in the Museo nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples.
Madonna of Constantinople is a c. 1656 oil on canvas painting by Mattia Preti. It was the first of many works commissioned as ex-votos for freeing the city from the plague of 1656 – they all showed the Madonna with a selection of the city's patron saints, in this case Joseph, Januarius, Roch, Nicasius and Rosalia (centre). It now hangs in the Museo nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples.
The Earthly Trinity with Saints and God the Father are a pair of c.1626-c.1635 oil on canvas paintings by Jusepe de Ribera, both now in the Museo nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples. Along with the Holy Family, the main work shows Bruno of Cologne, Benedict of Nursia, Bernardino of Siena and Bonaventure.
Saint John the Baptist is a c.1653-1656 oil on canvas painting by Mattia Preti, now in the Museo nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples.
Saint Nicholas is a c. 1653 painting by Mattia Preti, the first work he produced after moving to Naples and showing the three gold balls which are a traditional attribute of the saint. It is now in the Museo nazionale di Capodimonte in the same city. He also produced a larger version of the work in 1657 which is now in the Pinacoteca civica in Fano, with an early copy after the Capodimonte version now in the church of Santa Teresa degli Scalzi in Naples.
The Return of the Prodigal Son is a 1656 oil on canvas painting by Mattia Preti, now in the Museo nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples.
Adoration of the Shepherds is a c. 1642 oil on canvas painting by Guido Reni, commissioned by Giovan Battista Pisante, prior of the Certosa di San Martino in Naples, and still hanging on the main wall of the choir of that institution's church.
The Last Supper or The Communion of the Apostles is a 1651 oil on canvas painting by Jusepe de Ribera, still in the choir of the Certosa di San Martino in Naples, for which it was commissioned.
Saint Bruno Receiving the Rule is a 1643 oil on canvas painting by Jusepe de Ribera. It, Saint Sebastian and Saint Jerome were commissioned for the private quarters of the prior of Certosa di San Martino for 100 ducats each. The Certosa also commissioned works from him for its choir and nave. The Certosa was a Carthusian monastery and so the work shows the order's founder Bruno of Cologne, harking back to a composition already used by Ribera of the Madonna and Child with that saint as seen in a work now in Berlin and Earthly Trinity with God the Father.
Saint Sebastian is a 1651 oil on canvas painting by Jusepe de Ribera. With Saint Bruno Receiving the Rule and Saint Jerome, it is one of three works commissioned from him for the private quarters of the prior of the Certosa di San Martino in Naples, where they still hang. A work of his second maturity, it is a second version of a 1636 work now in Madrid.
The Pietà is a 1638 oil on canvas painting by Massimo Stanzione, commissioned in 1638 for the Certosa di San Martino, where it still hangs. He also treated the subject in a 1621-1625 work now in the Gallerie nazionali d'arte antica in palazzo Barberini, Rome.
Christ Washes the Disciples' Feet is a 1622 oil on canvas painting by Battistello Caracciolo for the church of the Certosa di San Martino in Naples, where it still hangs. It is held to be one of the artist's masterpieces.
The Flagellation of Christ is a c.1618 oil on canvas painting by Jusepe de Ribera, from the start of his stay in Naples. A smaller autograph copy without the accompanying figure on the right is now in the Galleria Sabauda in Turin.
Apollo and Marsyas is a 1659-1660 oil on canvas painting by Luca Giordano, now in the museo nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples. It was a model for de Ribera's 1637 work on the same subject in the same gallery.
Apollo and Marsyas is a 1637 oil on canvas painting by Jusepe de Ribera, now in the Museo nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples. Heavily influenced by Caravaggio, he produced another version, also in 1637, now in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels.