Why it matters
Christ's body lies horizontally across the foreground. Still rooted in tenebrist shadow, Ribera began here to experiment with brighter colour inspired by Rubens and Van Dyck.
Did you know?
- It is signed and dated 'Jusepe de Ribera español 1633'.
- Ribera painted the subject many times; other versions are in London and Naples.
- It comes from the collection of the Marquis de Heredia.
Based on the Wikipedia article Pietà (Ribera, Madrid) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
