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, Spanish, c.1591-1652
Title
Saint Onuphrius
Datelate 1620s
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
90 x 70 cm
Signedlower right: Jusepe de Ribera/ español F
Credit LinePurchased, 1879
Object numberNGI.219
DescriptionThis pious hermit lived in fourth-century Egypt and spent 40 years in the desert, in prayer and complete isolation. He is traditionally represented as a meagre old man, covered only by a girdle of leaves and fully absorbed in his prayers, with a crown and sceptre depicted in front of him to signify his scorn for human vanities. The harsh realism of the saint’s tortured skin is typical of the early career of the artist. Ribera is first documented in Rome in 1615, where he was influenced by Caravaggio and his circle. He married around 1616 and became firmly established in Naples, the second city of the Spanish kingdom. There, his immediate success in the viceregal court, both among the local aristocracy and the church hierarchy, led him to become the most sought-after artist in the city. In the Counter-Reformation climate of Naples, speci?c religious themes were encouraged, and depictions of penitent, emaciated, suffering saints, like this one of St Onuphrius, were regularly painted in Ribera’s workshop.

March 2016
ProvenancePurchased, Charles William Fitzgerald, 4th Duke of Leinster, 1879 Exhibition HistoryWorks of the Old Masters, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1888

Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964

Caravaggio and his Followers in the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1992

From Titian to Delacroix: Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, Yokohama Sogo Museum of Art, Yokohama, 25 August - 17 October 1993; Chiba Sogo Museum of Art, Chiba, 10 November - 20 December 1993; Prefectural Museum of Art, Yamaguchi, 5 January - 20 February 1994; Kobe City Museum, Kobe, 25 February - 10 April 1994; Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo, 14 April - 24 May 1994

European Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery, Canberra, 25 June - 3 October 1994; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Adelaide, 21 October 1994 - 15 January 1995

Lines of Vision. Irish Writers at the National Gallery of Ireland, 8 October 2014 —12 April 2015

Beyond Caravaggio, The Board of Trustees of the National Gallery (UK), London, 12 October 2016 - 15 January 2017: National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 17 June - 24 September 2017
Label TextSaint Onuphrius was a pious hermit who lived in third or fourth-century Egypt and spent forty years in the desert in complete isolation. The harsh realism of the saint’s tortured skin is typical of works from Ribera’s early stay in Naples. Born in Valencia, Ribera first moved to Rome by 1612, where he was greatly influenced by Caravaggio and his circle. He then moved to Naples, where he became the most sought-after artist in the city. In the Counter-Reformation climate of Naples there was great demand for paintings of penitent, emaciated saints.