Attributed to Jusepe de Ribera, called Lo Spagnoletto

Anonymous sale, Lucerne, Galerie Fischer, 6-7 July 1925, lot 261 (as by Ribera);
Mrs. Richard W. Courts, Atlanta;
Gift of J. Bulow Campbell to the High Museum of Art in 1981 (Inv. no. 1981.113).

E.M. Zafran, European Art in the High Museum, Atlanta 1984, p. 77, reproduced (as Follower of Ribera).

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work on canvas has been mounted onto a board which shows some original reinforcements and while this is not a typical support, the paint layer is stable. The paint layer is dirty and has been restored in the past. It is hard to clearly view the work, given the varnish and the texture of the painting, but in many areas the work is in good condition. There are restorations beneath the right hand of the figure in the darkest colors. There are restorations visible on both sides of the work and to a lesser degree across the top and bottom. The figure itself and the brown robe are in respectable condition. The portfolio of drawings on the right side shows restorations as does the white fabric in the lower right. The picture does not look its best at the moment and the existing restoration is not the most skillful, but in many ways the painting is in a healthy state.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

An autograph version of this composition, which was almost certainly part of a series of philosophers from Antiquity, is in a private collection, Paris (see N. Spinosa, Ribera, L'opera completa, Naples 2006, p. 297, cat. no. A91, reproduced; and N. Spinosa, Ribera, La Obra Completa, Madrid 2008, p. 370, cat. no. A111, reproduced).