The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew 1630

Jusepe de Ribera painted ‘The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew’ with oil on canvas. Ribera was a master of tenebrism, an approach to painting which enhances the drama of a scene using light and shadow. This is not only an aesthetic choice, but also a material one. Think about how Ribera might have built up these images layer by layer, and the labor involved in producing paintings of this scale. Each mark of the brush is a trace of a physical, embodied action. Ribera skillfully manipulated the viscosity and texture of the oil paint to create a sense of depth and realism. His ability to render human anatomy, especially the taut skin and sinews of the tortured saint, is really compelling. In the end, paintings like these remind us of the sheer effort that goes into their making, an aspect of the artwork that is sometimes overlooked in favor of the images or symbols they represent.