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Old Man Tied to a Tree and a Young Man Defecating (formerly Saint Bartholomew)
Maker
(artist)
1591-1652
1591-1652
Title
Old Man Tied to a Tree and a Young Man Defecating (formerly Saint Bartholomew)
Date of Production
1625 - 1629
Medium
red chalk on laid paper, with brown ink framing lines
Dimensions
Height: 24.1 cm
Width: 15 cm
Width: 15 cm
Accession Number
D.1952.RW.2505
Mode of Acquisition
Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Copyright
Work in the public domain
Location
Not currently on display
Keywords
Label Text
The bound male figure is a recurring theme in Ribera’s art. This extraordinarily subtle study may represent the suffering and steadfastness of an unidentified elderly saint. Extending his disproportionately long arm, he seems to address someone beyond the scene.
The relationship between the saint and the hunched man at the bottom of the tree remains ambiguous but they seem to be conceived as contrasting figures: whilst the saint ultimately transcends his physical ordeal the man appears to be defecating on a pot.
The relationship between the saint and the hunched man at the bottom of the tree remains ambiguous but they seem to be conceived as contrasting figures: whilst the saint ultimately transcends his physical ordeal the man appears to be defecating on a pot.
Provenance
possibly Visconde de Castelruiz; his sale, Christie's (London), 27 - 30 April 1846, lot 97; Thaw; his sale, Sotheby's (London), 20 July 1932, lot 3 or 17; purchased there by Hevesi (André de or Max?); given by him to Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b, n.d.; Witt Bequest 1952
Exhibition History
Ribera: Darkness and Light, Petit Palais, Paris, 05/11/2024-23/02/2025
Ribera: Art of Violence, Dulwich Picture Gallery, 26/09/2018-28/01/2019
Ribera, Master of Drawing, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 22/11/2016-19/02/2017 ...More
Mantegna to Matisse - Master Drawings from The Courtauld Gallery, The Frick Collection, New York, 02/10/2012-27/01/2013
Mantegna to Matisse - Master Drawings from The Courtauld Gallery, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 14/06/2012-09/09/2012
The Spanish Line - From Ribera to Picasso, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 13/10/2011-15/01/2012
Jusepe de Ribera 1591-1652, Prado, Madrid and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 02/06/1992-29/11/1992
The golden age of Spanish art: from El Greco to Murillo and Valdes Leal: paintings and drawings from British Collections, Nottingham University Art Gallery, 11/02/1980-29/03/1980
Spanish drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1978 (March - May)
Drawings by Guercino and other Baroque Masters, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/02/1977-01/03/1977
Jusepe de Ribera: prints and drawings, The Art Museum, Princeton University and Fogg Art Museum, Harvard, 1973-74
Master Drawings of the 17th century from the Witt Collection, Art Gallery of South Australia, Festival Exhibitions, Adelaide, 1968
Master Drawings from the Witt and Courtauld Collections, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, 17/11/1962-22/12/1962
Neapolitan Baroque and Rococo Painting, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Durham, 01/06/1962-12/08/1962
Drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1958-59
A selection of Spanish drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1956
Old Masters from the Witt Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 01/01/1943-01/05/1943 ...Less
Ribera: Art of Violence, Dulwich Picture Gallery, 26/09/2018-28/01/2019
Ribera, Master of Drawing, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 22/11/2016-19/02/2017 ...More
Mantegna to Matisse - Master Drawings from The Courtauld Gallery, The Frick Collection, New York, 02/10/2012-27/01/2013
Mantegna to Matisse - Master Drawings from The Courtauld Gallery, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 14/06/2012-09/09/2012
The Spanish Line - From Ribera to Picasso, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 13/10/2011-15/01/2012
Jusepe de Ribera 1591-1652, Prado, Madrid and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 02/06/1992-29/11/1992
The golden age of Spanish art: from El Greco to Murillo and Valdes Leal: paintings and drawings from British Collections, Nottingham University Art Gallery, 11/02/1980-29/03/1980
Spanish drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1978 (March - May)
Drawings by Guercino and other Baroque Masters, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/02/1977-01/03/1977
Jusepe de Ribera: prints and drawings, The Art Museum, Princeton University and Fogg Art Museum, Harvard, 1973-74
Master Drawings of the 17th century from the Witt Collection, Art Gallery of South Australia, Festival Exhibitions, Adelaide, 1968
Master Drawings from the Witt and Courtauld Collections, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, 17/11/1962-22/12/1962
Neapolitan Baroque and Rococo Painting, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Durham, 01/06/1962-12/08/1962
Drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1958-59
A selection of Spanish drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1956
Old Masters from the Witt Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 01/01/1943-01/05/1943 ...Less
Literature
Ribera: Art of Violence, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, 2018 London: Dulwich Picture Gallery / D Giles Limited 2018
p. 130, no. 36
ill. on p. 131
Finaldi, Gabriele, Jusepe de Ribera The Drawings - Catalogue raisonne, Meadows Museum, SMU; Museo Nacional del Prado; Fundacion Focus 2016
no. 74
ill. on p. 203
Mantegna to Matisse - Master Drawings from The Courtauld Gallery, Frick Collection, New York and Courtauld Gallery, London London 2012-2013
pp. 118-120 ...More
E. Payne, 'Hung, Drawn, Tortured: Violence in drawings by Guercino and Ribera' in: Lucretia: Guercino and Handel, a dialogue between art and music., London 2013-14
p. 44-46
fig. n. 18
Payne, Edward, Violence and corporeality in the art of Jusepe de Ribera', PhD thesis, Courtauld Institute of Art 2012
pp. 31-39
fig. 21
Véliz, Zahira, Spanish Drawings in the Courtauld Gallery: complete catalogue, London, 2011
no. 79
ill. on p. 227
Fischer, Chris and Joachim Meyer, Neapolitan drawings: Italian drawings in the Department of Prints and Drawings, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen 2006
p. 63 n. 5 under no. 15
Finaldi, Gabriele, Aspects of the life and work of Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652), PhD thesis, Courtauld Institute of Art, London 1995
p. 296, no. 69
Jusepe de Ribera 1591-1652, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1992
p. 435, no. D24
Farr, Dennis, 100 Masterpieces from the Courtauld Collections, London: Courtauld Institute Galleries, 1987
p. 150
ill. on p. 151
The golden age of Spanish art: from El Greco to Murillo and Valdes Leal: paintings and drawings from British Collections, Nottingham University Art Gallery, 1980
cat. no. 26
pl. 3
Spanish drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1978 (March - May)
cat. no. 13
ill.
Jusepe de Ribera: prints and drawings, The Art Museum, Princeton University and Fogg Art Museum, Harvard, 1973-1974
cat. no. 18
pl. 45
Brown, Jonathan, 'Notes on Princeton Drawings 6: Jusepe de Ribera' in 'Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University', 1972 - pp. 2-7; 31, 2
p. 2
fig. 3 on p. 5
Le dessin à Naples des XVIe et XVIIe siècles, Louvre, Paris, 1967
under no. 20
Mahoney, Michael, The drawings of Salvator Rosa, New York and London 1977
no. 7.1 n. 4
Neapolitan Baroque and Rococo Painting, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Durham, 1962
cat. no. 9
Anthony Blunt and Philip Troutman, Master Drawings from the Witt and Courtauld Collections, 1962
cat. no. 98
Drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1958 - 1959
cat. no. 34
A selection of Spanish drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1956
cat. no. 21
Ribera. Ténèbres et lumière. Petit Palais, Paris, 2024-2025.
cat. no. 80
p. 242
ill. on p. 247 ...Less
p. 130, no. 36
ill. on p. 131
Finaldi, Gabriele, Jusepe de Ribera The Drawings - Catalogue raisonne, Meadows Museum, SMU; Museo Nacional del Prado; Fundacion Focus 2016
no. 74
ill. on p. 203
Mantegna to Matisse - Master Drawings from The Courtauld Gallery, Frick Collection, New York and Courtauld Gallery, London London 2012-2013
pp. 118-120 ...More
E. Payne, 'Hung, Drawn, Tortured: Violence in drawings by Guercino and Ribera' in: Lucretia: Guercino and Handel, a dialogue between art and music., London 2013-14
p. 44-46
fig. n. 18
Payne, Edward, Violence and corporeality in the art of Jusepe de Ribera', PhD thesis, Courtauld Institute of Art 2012
pp. 31-39
fig. 21
Véliz, Zahira, Spanish Drawings in the Courtauld Gallery: complete catalogue, London, 2011
no. 79
ill. on p. 227
Fischer, Chris and Joachim Meyer, Neapolitan drawings: Italian drawings in the Department of Prints and Drawings, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen 2006
p. 63 n. 5 under no. 15
Finaldi, Gabriele, Aspects of the life and work of Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652), PhD thesis, Courtauld Institute of Art, London 1995
p. 296, no. 69
Jusepe de Ribera 1591-1652, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1992
p. 435, no. D24
Farr, Dennis, 100 Masterpieces from the Courtauld Collections, London: Courtauld Institute Galleries, 1987
p. 150
ill. on p. 151
The golden age of Spanish art: from El Greco to Murillo and Valdes Leal: paintings and drawings from British Collections, Nottingham University Art Gallery, 1980
cat. no. 26
pl. 3
Spanish drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1978 (March - May)
cat. no. 13
ill.
Jusepe de Ribera: prints and drawings, The Art Museum, Princeton University and Fogg Art Museum, Harvard, 1973-1974
cat. no. 18
pl. 45
Brown, Jonathan, 'Notes on Princeton Drawings 6: Jusepe de Ribera' in 'Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University', 1972 - pp. 2-7; 31, 2
p. 2
fig. 3 on p. 5
Le dessin à Naples des XVIe et XVIIe siècles, Louvre, Paris, 1967
under no. 20
Mahoney, Michael, The drawings of Salvator Rosa, New York and London 1977
no. 7.1 n. 4
Neapolitan Baroque and Rococo Painting, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Durham, 1962
cat. no. 9
Anthony Blunt and Philip Troutman, Master Drawings from the Witt and Courtauld Collections, 1962
cat. no. 98
Drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1958 - 1959
cat. no. 34
A selection of Spanish drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1956
cat. no. 21
Ribera. Ténèbres et lumière. Petit Palais, Paris, 2024-2025.
cat. no. 80
p. 242
ill. on p. 247 ...Less
Inscriptions
Watermark: Watermark: none.
Inscription: Recto: lower left edge, brown ink: “Spagnoletto”.
Collector's mark: Verso: lower left corner, stamped in black ink: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).
Inscription: Recto: lower left edge, brown ink: “Spagnoletto”.
Collector's mark: Verso: lower left corner, stamped in black ink: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).
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