Artibus et Historiae no. 17 (IX)
1988, ISSN 0391-9064Up
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CARLO DEL BRAVO - Riberas Concept of Harmony
The young Ribera seems to have had some relationship to Bernardo Strozzi and the Capuchin Fathers. However, the dominant iconology in Ribera's works seems to come from the tradition of local "Evangelism", as in Luis de Molina, with a focus on the imitation of Christ in mildness and humility, and with the main sources being St. Matthew and St. Augustine.
By reconstructing this coherent iconology, Ribera's images of physical decay are not to be considered apart from those of beauty, in accordance with the Augustinian assertion of the relative beauty of all creation since it derives its existence and form from God, nor from the assertion of a higher universal harmony, where all things fit into their proper place. What we see as ugly comes, if anything, from limiting our attention to what is particular.
