Jusepe de Ribera

Baptised in Játiva in 1591, son of a shoemaker, Ribera surfaces in Italian records by 1611 and was living the bohemian life in Rome's Via Margutta by 1615, already earning a reputation and spending extravagantly. He moved to Naples in late 1616, married the daughter of a Sicilian painter, and stayed for good. There he ran a busy workshop, secured major commissions, and in 1626 received the Cross of the Order of Christ from Pope Urban VIII. His health began to fail in 1643 and money grew tight by 1649, but when his body allowed it he kept painting into his final year. He died in Naples on 3 Nov…