# Jusepe de Ribera artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/jusepe-de-ribera/
Profile generated: 2026-05-10T13:38:31.749Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1591-02-17
- Death date: 1652-09-03
- Nationality: Spanish
- Movements: Baroque, Spanish Baroque, Neapolitan Baroque
- Common media: oil painting, etching, drawing, printmaking

## About Jusepe de Ribera

Jusepe de Ribera (1591–1652) was a Spanish painter and printmaker who spent most of his career in Naples, then under Spanish rule, where contemporaries nicknamed him Lo Spagnoletto — the little Spaniard. Born in Játiva, Spain, and baptized on February 17, 1591, Ribera established himself as the dominant painter of the Neapolitan Baroque and is counted among the great masters of Spanish Baroque painting alongside Velázquez, Zurbarán, and Murillo. His work is characterized by dramatic chiaroscuro, unflinching realism, and intense depictions of martyrdom, saints, philosophers, and mythological figures. Ribera was also a prolific and accomplished etcher whose prints circulated widely and influenced artists across Europe. His paintings are held by major museums worldwide, including the Prado, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre, and the National Gallery in London.

## Common works and media

Ribera's most commonly encountered works in appraisal and auction contexts include oil paintings on canvas depicting religious martyrdoms, penitent saints (such as Saint Jerome, Saint Sebastian, and Saint Mary Magdalene), philosophers, and mythological scenes. He also produced a significant body of etchings featuring religious and genre subjects, as well as preparatory drawings in pen, ink, and chalk. Prints are more widely available on the market than paintings and can appear in Old Master print sales.

## Market and appraisal context

Jusepe de Ribera is a well-established name in the Old Master auction market with 137 tracked lots and 95 priced results spanning 2002 to March 2026. His work trades at a wide price spectrum: the recorded range runs from €100 for school-of etchings and attributions to €1,426,500 for fully attributed oil paintings at top-tier houses. The median lot price of €7,560 and interquartile range of €1,500–€67,000 reflect a market where attribution status is the single largest price driver. Autograph paintings by Ribera consistently achieve five- and six-figure results at houses such as Hampel Fine Art Auctions, Cambi Casa d'Aste, Dorotheum, Christie's, and Sotheby's. Works catalogued as 'circle of', 'workshop of', or 'school of' trade at steep discounts, often under €5,000. Etchings and prints provide a more accessible collector entry point, with results as low as a few hundred dollars at Swann Auction Galleries. Market liquidity is moderate and stable: 11 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month period versus 8 in the prior 12 months, suggesting steady demand. The dominant auction venues are Hampel Fine Art Auctions (Munich), Cambi Casa d'Aste (Milan), Dorotheum (Vienna), and Bertolami Fine Art (Rome), with Christie's and Sotheby's handling the highest-value lots.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Jusepe de Ribera is a well-established name in the Old Master auction market with 137 tracked lots and 95 priced results spanning 2002 to March 2026. His work trades at a wide price spectrum: the recorded range runs from €100 for school-of etchings and attributions to €1,426,500 for fully attributed oil paintings at top-tier houses. The median lot price of €7,560 and interquartile range of €1,500–€67,000 reflect a market where attribution status is the single largest price driver. Autograph paintings by Ribera consistently achieve five- and six-figure results at houses such as Hampel Fine Art Auctions, Cambi Casa d'Aste, Dorotheum, Christie's, and Sotheby's. Works catalogued as 'circle of', 'workshop of', or 'school of' trade at steep discounts, often under €5,000. Etchings and prints provide a more accessible collector entry point, with results as low as a few hundred dollars at Swann Auction Galleries. Market liquidity is moderate and stable: 11 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month period versus 8 in the prior 12 months, suggesting steady demand. The dominant auction venues are Hampel Fine Art Auctions (Munich), Cambi Casa d'Aste (Milan), Dorotheum (Vienna), and Bertolami Fine Art (Rome), with Christie's and Sotheby's handling the highest-value lots.

### Appraisal notes

When appraising a work attributed to Jusepe de Ribera, Appraisily would combine the 137-lot auction record with detailed examination of: (1) attribution status — whether the work is catalogued as by Ribera, workshop of, circle of, follower of, or school of, which dramatically affects value; (2) medium and scale — oil paintings on canvas command the highest prices, with etchings and drawings forming a separate market tier; (3) condition report — including relining history, inpainting, craquelure, and any restoration typical of seventeenth-century canvases; (4) provenance — documented ownership history back through collections and dealer records; (5) signature or inscriptions; (6) dimensions and support; (7) scholarly publication and exhibition history; and (8) comparable lots from the Appraisily record, particularly the 24 most recent results and the five-figure Hampel, Cambi, and Dorotheum sales. Given the wide price dispersion (€100 to €1,426,500), no single comparable is sufficient — the appraiser must match attribution tier, medium, subject, and condition to the appropriate segment of the recorded range.

### Valuation factors

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### Collector notes

- The Ribera market has a wide price spectrum. Collectors should expect to pay five to six figures (EUR) for autograph oil paintings, while etchings and drawings can be acquired for a few hundred to a few thousand dollars at specialist print sales.
- Attribution is critical: many lots in the record are catalogued as 'circle of', 'workshop of', 'attributed to', or 'school of' Ribera. These trade at significant discounts but still carry the Old Master premium associated with his name.
- Hampel Fine Art Auctions (Munich) and Cambi Casa d'Aste (Milan) are the most active mid-tier venues for Ribera works. Christie's and Sotheby's handle the highest-value lots but appear less frequently in the record.
- Prints by Ribera — particularly etchings of religious subjects — appear regularly at Swann Auction Galleries and offer an accessible entry point into the artist's market. Signed or dated impressions carry premiums.
- Market activity has been stable to slightly increasing (11 lots in the trailing 12 months vs. 8 in the prior period), indicating consistent demand rather than speculative interest.
- Mixed-currency results (EUR and USD) are common. When comparing lots, convert to a common currency and account for buyer's premiums, which may not be included in reported prices.

### Market caveats

- Ribera's Naples workshop was highly active and produced many works in his style. Numerous lots in the auction record are catalogued as 'bottega di' (workshop of), 'cerchia di' (circle of), 'Kreis des' (circle of), or 'zugeschrieben' (attributed to), and these attributions should be assessed by a qualified Old Master specialist.
- The recorded price range (€100–€1,426,500) reflects a mix of autograph works, workshop productions, school pieces, and prints. No individual lot should be treated as a direct comparable without matching attribution tier, medium, subject, and condition.
- Several recent lots have no recorded price realized (bought-in or withdrawn), which can indicate reserve failures rather than lack of demand.
- Auction results span EUR and USD. Direct price comparisons require currency normalization.
- Some older lots in the record may use 1588 as Ribera's birth year; the accepted baptismal date is February 17, 1591, per Játiva parish records.
- The Appraisily auction record includes 137 lots over approximately 24 years, which is a solid sample for an Old Master but not exhaustive. Major private sales and dealer transactions are not captured.

### Market evidence sources

- undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/jusepe-de-ribera/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jusepe-de-ribera-called-lo-spagnoletto-89-c-67b486284b

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine researched artist identity from museum, library-authority, and scholarly sources with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Jusepe de Ribera, identity data is grounded in the Getty ULAN, Library of Congress, VIAF, and RKD authority records, with biographical context from standard art-historical references.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q297838
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500008521
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/83103470/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82095006
- RKD (Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/66553
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jusepe_de_Ribera