''The Martyrdom of Saint Philip '' ( Spanish: ''Martirio de San Felipe'') is a painting by

Jusepe de Ribera Jusepe de Ribera (; baptised 17 February 1591 – 3 November 1652) was a Spanish painter and Printmaking, printmaker. Ribera, Francisco de Zurbarán, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and the singular Diego Velázquez, are regarded as the major artist ...

from 1639. It is considered one of his best works. The Spanish critic Eugenio d'Ors said of it " almost, almost like a Russian ballet." The painting is exhibited in the

Museo del Prado The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of Art of Europe, European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th ce ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Description

For a long time it was thought that this painting represented the martyrdom of the apostle Bartholomew; an event that Ribera had painted several times. Only in 1953 was it established that the subject is Philip the Apostle by the art historian Delphine Fitz Derby. Following the resurrection of Jesus, Philip and his sister Mariamne together with Bartholomew preached in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...

, and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. He was martyred in

Hierapolis Hierapolis (; , lit. "Holy City") was a Hellenistic Greek city built on the site of a Phrygian cult center of the Anatolian mother goddess Cybele, in Phrygia in southwestern Anatolia, Turkey. It was famous for its hot springs, its high qualit ...

when he was crucified. Ribera captures the moment when the preparations for the crucifixion are still in progress. He does so from a low perspective, giving the main characters monumentality and showing a large part of blue sky. Two executioners try to raise the apostle, while a third supports one of his legs. Bright sunlight illuminates his face that shows pain and resignation. The contrast of light and shadow enhances the dramatic effect. On the right there is a group of curious onlookers who appear to comment on the event. On the left, on the other hand, the people who appear are oblivious to what happens; there is a woman holding a little child in her arms and looking toward the viewer, putting a tender and delicate counterpoint to the cruelty that dominates the rest of the scene. Some critics have wanted to see an allegory of Charity in this figure. Judging by the treatment of color, the touches of brush and the splendid nude, this is a mature work by Ribera. It is less caravagesque than his previous works, showing the influence of

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian Baroque painter, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but al ...

and Domenichino.

History

''The Martyrdom of Saint Philip '' was likely commissioned by the II Duke of Medina de las Torres as a gift to King Philip IV of Spain; Philip the Apostle was his patron saint. For a long time, the painting was part of the royal collection. It survived the fire in the Royal Alcázar in 1734 and was subsequently installed in the Buen Retiro Palace and the Royal Palace of Madrid. Sometime after 1818 the painting was moved to the Prado.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Martyrdom Of Saint Philip Paintings by Jusepe de Ribera Paintings about death Torture in art 1639 paintings