PORTUS JAVIER
A leading figure in the Spanish Baroque tradition?alongside El Greco, Velázquez, and Zurbarán?José Ribera?s style was the most markedly tenebrist; he was also one of the first artists to be both a painter and printmaker. His early style, sometimes drawing on Caravaggio and sometimes on Guido Reni?s various techniques, reflects his study of Spanish andVenetian masters. Along with his massive and predominant shadows, one of his strongest points throughout his career was the use he made of color. In the early 1630s his style moved away from strong contrasts of dark and light to the use of more diffused and golden lighting. Javier Portús, chief curator of the Spanish Baroque art department at the Museo del Prado, takes a fresh look at Ribera?s career, focusing his research on the early years, a period less studied by art historians to date.
