Lazarillo de Tormes and His Blind Master

Théodule Ribot’s painting “Lazarillo de Tormes and His Blind Master” was completed before 1880. It depicts a scene from the Spanish novella of the same name, known for its anticlerical content. Oil on fabric.

The painting is housed in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Ribot chose oil on fabric for this work, a common medium in 19th-century France.

The novella “Lazarillo de Tormes” was first published anonymously in 1554. It is considered the first picaresque novel, a style known for satirical and realistic depictions of the lower classes.

Ribot was active in the 19th century and is known for his dark, often somber tonalities. He was born in 1823 and worked primarily in France.

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio https://clevelandart.org/art/1980.282