Magdalena Ventura with Her Husband and Son or The Bearded Lady is a 1631 oil on canvas painting by the Spanish artist Jusepe de Ribera. It is now part of the Fundación Casa Ducal de Medinaceli collection and displayed at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid.
The painting displays Magdalena Ventura standing while nursing her baby, with her husband standing behind her in the shadows. To the right are two steles, the top one listing the details of their family story in Latin, proclaiming it as A Wonder of Nature.[1] The second stele extolls her unusual nature while still have a child and husband, as well as the work of the painter and the proud owner who commissioned it.
The painting was mentioned in various period diaries. All of the information known about Magdalena Ventura is derived from quotes and documents referring to the painting. Supposedly, Duke of Alcalá was moved to commission the painting based on rumors he heard about her.[citation needed] The stele claims that at the time of painting, she was 52, and began to show facial hair growth at 37. She had at least two other children, and was an Italian from the nearby region of Abruzzi. Magdalena likely helped or was the primary source of income through her facial hair, as the painting shows her with a long, untrimmed beard. This is stark contrast with her husband's more fashionably trimmed beard. The simple act of standing while nursing is also an unusual pose for 17th-century women, and was associated with accounts of strong African women nursing in unusual ways. Painting Magdalena Ventura in such a manner would have served to emphasize her "manliness" and strength.
The painting was a part of a gallery of portraits of people deemed "unusual," particularly of people with characteristics popular among travelling acts of the period, like dwarfism. Ribera was later commissioned to make another portrait, this time of a club-footed boy, The Clubfoot, in 1642.
^A Foul and Pestilent Congregation: Images of Freaks in Baroque Art, by Art historian Barry Wind, 1998
Sourcesedit
The Duke of Alcalá: His Collection and Its Evolution, by Jonathan Brown and Richard L. Kagan, The Art Bulletin, vol. 69, no. 2, 1987, pp. 231–255, on JSTOR
External linksedit
Painting record on artble
Painting record on Medinaceli Foundation website
January 01, 1970
magdalena, ventura, with, husband, bearded, lady, 1631, canvas, painting, spanish, artist, jusepe, ribera, part, fundación, casa, ducal, medinaceli, collection, displayed, museo, nacional, prado, madrid, bearded, womanyear1631dimensions212, locationlouvre, rea. Magdalena Ventura with Her Husband and Son or The Bearded Lady is a 1631 oil on canvas painting by the Spanish artist Jusepe de Ribera It is now part of the Fundacion Casa Ducal de Medinaceli collection and displayed at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid Magdalena Ventura with Her Husband and SonThe Bearded WomanYear1631Dimensions212 cm 83 in 144 cm 57 in LocationLouvre Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando Hospital de TaveraOwnerFernando Afan de Ribera edit on Wikidata Contents 1 Description 2 See also 3 References 4 Sources 5 External linksDescription editThe painting displays Magdalena Ventura standing while nursing her baby with her husband standing behind her in the shadows To the right are two steles the top one listing the details of their family story in Latin proclaiming it as A Wonder of Nature 1 The second stele extolls her unusual nature while still have a child and husband as well as the work of the painter and the proud owner who commissioned it The painting was mentioned in various period diaries All of the information known about Magdalena Ventura is derived from quotes and documents referring to the painting Supposedly Duke of Alcala was moved to commission the painting based on rumors he heard about her citation needed The stele claims that at the time of painting she was 52 and began to show facial hair growth at 37 She had at least two other children and was an Italian from the nearby region of Abruzzi Magdalena likely helped or was the primary source of income through her facial hair as the painting shows her with a long untrimmed beard This is stark contrast with her husband s more fashionably trimmed beard The simple act of standing while nursing is also an unusual pose for 17th century women and was associated with accounts of strong African women nursing in unusual ways Painting Magdalena Ventura in such a manner would have served to emphasize her manliness and strength The painting was a part of a gallery of portraits of people deemed unusual particularly of people with characteristics popular among travelling acts of the period like dwarfism Ribera was later commissioned to make another portrait this time of a club footed boy The Clubfoot in 1642 See also editBearded ladyReferences edit A Foul and Pestilent Congregation Images of Freaks in Baroque Art by Art historian Barry Wind 1998Sources editThe Duke of Alcala His Collection and Its Evolution by Jonathan Brown and Richard L Kagan The Art Bulletin vol 69 no 2 1987 pp 231 255 on JSTORExternal links editPainting record on artble Painting record on Medinaceli Foundation website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Magdalena Ventura with Her Husband and Son amp oldid 1144494510, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
