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Jusepe de Ribera

Inquisition Scene, after 1635

Description

Maker

Title

Inquisition Scene

Year

after 1635

Medium

Pen and ink, brush and wash on thin antique white laid paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Supports

Dimensions

20.6 x 16.5 cm (8 1/8 x 6 1/2 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscribed in pen (in 17th century hand?), verso of mount (now removed and in file):Orgl di Spagnoletto di Napoli

Type

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

56.060

Projects & Publications

Publications

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Design and Description

January 27 - April 9, 2006

This drawing depicts a gruesome act—a scene of torture in which an Inquisitor tries to coerce evidence from a prisoner by using a device called la garrucha (the hoist). Ribera depicted the prisoner’s arms in an early state of dislocation. The taste for horrific scenes of martyrdom and punishment was not unusual amongst the Counter-Reform audience of Naples, where Ribera worked.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Inquisition Scene with the accession number of 56.060. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.