Saint Mary of Egypt by José de Ribera

Saint Mary of Egypt by José de Ribera

A penitent in the desert

Mary of Egypt was a woman of Alexandria who, according to legend, lived a dissolute life until she was stopped by an invisible force at the door of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Converted, she crossed the Jordan and lived alone in the desert for forty-seven years, eating what little she could find.

Ribera’s truth

Ribera paints her in ragged clothes, pale and thin, her hands clasped over a skull beside the loaves of bread she took into the desert. There is nothing softened or idealised in the face. Yet her eyes are lifted, and the light falls on her with tenderness. This is Ribera’s great subject — holiness found in bodies worn by time and suffering, painted without flattery.

Late Ribera

It dates from 1651, the last years of Ribera’s life in Naples, when illness had slowed him but his handling had grown broader and warmer.

Where it hangs

A late work by Ribera, dated 1651, measuring 88 by 71 centimetres.

About this print

Made from a 6,806-pixel photograph of the original, enough to print sharply at up to about 45 inches on its longest side.

Sources: Wikidata · Wikidata Q112045372 · Wikimedia Commons