ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Jusepe de Ribera’s early career following a geographic nexus that connects Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Liguria, as described by art biographer and doctor Giulio Mancini in his Considerazioni sulla pittura, among others. In re-examining the impact of Ribera’s trips to Northern Italy on his youthful style, it considers how mobility, by of virtue of his travels, fundamentally affected the development of Ribera’s manner of painting. The chapter considers Ribera’s mobility, especially during his first years in Italy, as a case study in cultural transfer. It also examines the artistic and religious reasons for Ribera’s relocation from Spain to Italy in view of Kim’s aforementioned approach to mobility, geography, and the artistic enterprise. The chapter looks at other Northern Italian artists who might have had an impact on the young Ribera’s style. It builds on studies by Lubomir Konecny and Viviana Farina, who have written about the impact of the Lombard style on Ribera’s physiognomic studies.
