Ribera and Zurbarán

PART ONE: LECTURE:

1) Art and culture in the age of Philip IV.
2) Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652) and the influence of Caravaggio.
3) Francisco de Zurbarán (November 7, 1598; died August 27, 1664)

From Wikipedia:
Philip has been remembered both for the ‘astonishing enthusiasm’ with which he collected art and for his love of theatre. On the stage, he favoured Lope de Vega, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, and other distinguished dramatists. Philip has been credited with a share in the composition of several comedies. Court theatre used perspective scenery, a new invention from Italy not used in commercial theatre at the time – some writers have likened the illusion of Baroque royal theatre to the illusion of kingly power the performances were designed to reinforce. Artistically, Philip became famous for his patronage of his court painter Diego Velázquez. Velázquez originated from Seville and mutual contacts caused him to become known to Olivares, who came from the same region; he was summoned to Madrid by the king in 1624. Despite some jealously from the existing court painters, Velázquez rapidly became a success with Philip, being retained for the rest of his career until his death painting a celebration of the Treaty of the Pyrenees for Philip. The king and Velázquez shared common interests in horses, dogs and art, and in private formed an easy, relaxed relationship over the years. Philip supported a number of other prominent painters over the years, including Eugenio Caxes, Vicente Carducho, Gonzales and Nardi. Philip accumulated paintings from across Europe, especially Italy, accumulating over 4,000 by the time of his death; some have termed this unparalled assemblage a ‘mega-collection’.

PART TWO: PAINTINGS

The art of José Ribera and  Francisco Zurbaran.