The Bearded Woman Jusepe de Ribera

The Bearded Woman Jusepe de Ribera

The Bearded Woman Jusepe de Ribera

The Bearded Woman Jusepe de Ribera

The Bearded Woman Jusepe de Ribera

This genre of painting may have abounded during the Baroque period but Ribera's painting is different, invested with certain characteristics that elevate it to the level of a masterpiece. Ribera's The Bearded Woman is particularly notable for the following qualities;



Composition:

Characteristic of Ribera's style, as well as the style of the other major painters of the Spanish Baroque, is his careful attention to naturalistic detail. Note the precise, masterfully executed details such as the folds and stitches of Magdalena's simple outfit, her creased, utterly masculine face and the pained expression of her husband.



The tone:

What differentiates Ribera's paintings of this type of subject matter, however, is the grave, even empathetic tone of the image. While many artists resorted to buffoonery and mockery in their depiction of these "freaks," Ribera, perhaps taking a page out of the dignified representations of low-life subjects by northern Italian artists like Annibale Carracci and Caravaggio, creates a painting utterly devoid of humor. The Bearded Woman is thus invested with a psychological depth that makes the painting more than just an inconsequential curiosity.



Magdalena's grave, resigned demeanor and the worried, forlorn expression of her husband make the viewer feel sympathy for the sitter, as opposed to disgust or amusement.



Use of technique:

Executed in 1631, The Bearded Woman was painted during the early, Caravaggesque phase of Ribera's style. This intense, dramatic tenebrism is particularly suited to grave, slightly sinister subject matter: Ribera was a master of creating a dark, ominous atmosphere through effects of light and shade, using the technique of chiaroscuro.



Theme:

One of the underlying themes of The Bearded Woman is Ribera's attempt to subtly reinforce Magdalena's femininity. This is most strongly suggested by the exposure of her strange, Cyclops-like breast as she nurses a newborn infant.



By the time this painting was executed, Magdalena was fifty-two years old and her three sons were assuredly no longer breastfeeding; this baby is thus symbolic, serving to emphasis the fact that, despite her luxurious beard, the subject of this portrait is emphatically a woman.



This message is reinforced by the presence of a spool of thread and the head of a staff atop the stone slab to the right of the picture, both of which are symbols of domesticity and womanhood.



Brush work:

Ribera uses thick, defined to portray his subjects and fabrics. Every wrinkle and detail is precisely captured in this work.



