RIBALTA

Around 1600 he moved to Valencia, enjoying the patronage of the archbishop, Juan de Ribera. His works at this time, like the Retable of Santiago probably lacked any great originality.

However he developed his own powerful style after 1612 using emphasis on darkness rather than light (tenebroso) in compositions such as Christ Embracing St Bernard, The Singer, and Portacoeli Retable. It was works like these that influenced later painters like Zurbaran and Velazquez.