Flaying of Marsyas
ArtistFollower of
Jusepe de Ribera
(Spanish, c. 1590-1652, active in Naples)
Date1630s-40s
CultureSpanish
MediumOil on canvas
ClassificationPaintings
Provenance(Julius Böhler, Munich); sold before 17 January 1930 for £160 to John Ringling (1866–1936), Sarasota, Florida; bequest to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida, 1936-present.
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN335
Controlled by the Spanish monarchy in the 16th and 17th centuries, Naples was heavily influenced by the drama and naturalism of Spanish painting. This work by the Neapolitan painter Antonio de Bellis is based closely on a painting of the same subject by Jusepe de Ribera, a Spaniard working in Naples in the early 17th century. As recorded by the 1st-century poet Ovid in his Metamorphoses, Marsyas, a satyr, was flayed alive for having the arrogance to challenge Apollo, the god of music, to a contest of musical ability. The agonized face of Marsyas illustrates the artist's penchant for conveying intense emotion.
On View
On viewLocation
DimensionsFramed: 70 x 95 x 1 3/4 in. (177.8 x 241.3 x 4.4 cm)- Museum of Art, Gallery 08, Wall North
Image: 69 3/8 x 94 3/8 in. (176.2 x 239.7 cm)
Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez)
c. 1628–29, reworked c. 1631
