Francisco de Zurbarán ( , ; baptized 7 November 1598 – 27 August 1664) was a Spanish

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. He is known primarily for his religious paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs, and for his

still-life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...

s. Zurbarán gained the nickname "Spanish

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

", owing to the forceful use of

chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

in which he excelled. He was the father of the painter Juan de Zurbarán.

Biography

Zurbarán was born in 1598 in Fuente de Cantos,

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

; he was baptized on 7 November of that year. His parents were Luis de Zurbarán, a haberdasher, and his wife, Isabel Márquez. In childhood he set about imitating objects with

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

. In 1614 his father sent him to

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

to apprentice for three years with Pedro Díaz de Villanueva, an artist of whom very little is known. Zurbarán's first marriage, in 1617, was to María Paet who was nine years older. María died in 1624 after the birth of their third child. In 1625 he married again to wealthy widow Beatriz de Morales. On 17 January 1626, Zurbarán signed a contract with the prior of the Dominican monastery San Pablo el Real in Seville, agreeing to produce 21 paintings within eight months. Fourteen of the paintings depicted the life of

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientis ...

; the others represented

Saint Bonaventura Bonaventure ( ; it, Bonaventura ; la, Bonaventura de Balneoregio; 1221 – 15 July 1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian Catholic Franciscan, bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister Ge ...

Saint Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

, and the four

Doctors of the Church Doctor of the Church (Latin: ''doctor'' "teacher"), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (Latin: ''Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis''), is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribu ...

. This commission established Zurbarán as a painter. On 29 August 1628, Zurbarán was commissioned by the

Mercedarians The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives ( la, Ordo Beatae Mariae de Mercede Redemptionis Captivorum, abbreviated O. de M.), also known as the Mercedarians, is a Catholic mendicant order es ...

of Seville to produce 22 paintings for the cloister in their monastery. In 1629, the Elders of Seville invited Zurbarán to relocate permanently to the city, as his paintings had gained such high reputation that he would increase the reputation of Seville. He accepted the invitation and moved to Seville with his wife Beatriz de Morales, the three children from his first marriage, a relative called Isabel de Zurbarán and eight servants. In May 1639 his second wife, Beatriz de Morales, died. Towards 1630 he was appointed painter to Philip IV, and there is a story that on one occasion the sovereign laid his hand on the artist's shoulder, saying "Painter to the king, king of painters". After 1640 his austere, harsh, hard-edged style was unfavorably compared to the sentimental religiosity of Murillo and Zurbarán's reputation declined. Beginning by the late 1630s, Zurbarán's workshop produced many paintings for export to South America. ''

Jacob and his twelve sons ''Jacob and his twelve sons'' () is a series of thirteen paintings by Spanish artist Francisco de Zurbarán. The series of life-size portraits was painted between 1641 and 1658. Twelve of the thirteen paintings are in Auckland Castle, in Bishop ...

'', a series depicting the patriarch

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

and his 12 sons, seems to have been aimed at the South America market, but the originals were acquired for

Auckland Castle Auckland Castle, which is also known as Auckland Palace and to people that live locally as the Bishop's Castle or Bishop's Palace, is located in the town of Bishop Auckland in County Durham, England. In 1832, this castle replaced Durham Castle as ...

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

, Co. Durham, England. On 7 February 1644, Zurbarán married a third time with another wealthy widow, Leonor de Torder. It was only in 1658, late in Zurbarán's life, that he moved to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

in search of work and renewed his contact with Velázquez. Popular myth has Zurbarán dying in poverty, but at his death the value of his estate was about 20,000 ''reales''.

Style

It is unknown whether Zurbarán had the opportunity to see the paintings of

, only that his work features a similar use of chiaroscuro and

tenebrism Tenebrism, from Italian ' ("dark, gloomy, mysterious"), also occasionally called dramatic illumination, is a style of painting using especially pronounced chiaroscuro, where there are violent contrasts of light and dark, and where darkness becomes ...

(dramatic lighting). The painter thought by some art historians to have had the greatest influence on his characteristically severe compositions was

Juan Sánchez Cotán Juan Sánchez Cotán (June 25, 1560 – September 8, 1627) was a Spanish Baroque painter, a pioneer of realism in Spain. His still lifes and '' bodegones'' were painted in an austere style, especially when compared to similar works in the Neth ...

. Polychrome sculpture—which by the time of Zurbarán's apprenticeship had reached a level of sophistication in Seville that surpassed that of the local painters—provided another important stylistic model for the young artist; the work of

Juan Martínez Montañés Juan Martínez Montañés (March 16, 1568 – June 18, 1649), known as el Dios de la Madera (''the God of Wood''), was a Spanish sculptor, born at Alcalá la Real, in the province of Jaén. He was one of the most important figures of the Sevill ...

is especially close to Zurbarán's in spirit. He painted his figures directly from nature, and he made great use of the lay-figure in the study of draperies, in which he was particularly proficient. He had a special gift for white draperies; as a consequence, the houses of the white-robed

Carthusians The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...

are abundant in his paintings. To these rigid methods, Zurbarán is said to have adhered throughout his career, which was prosperous, wholly confined to Spain, and varied by few incidents beyond those of his daily labour. His subjects were mostly severe and ascetic religious vigils, the spirit chastising the flesh into subjection, the compositions often reduced to a single figure. The style is more reserved and chastened than Caravaggio's, the tone of color often quite bluish. Exceptional effects are attained by the precisely finished foregrounds, massed out largely in light and shade. Backgrounds are often featureless and dark. Zurbaran had difficulty painting deep space; when interior or exterior settings are represented, the effect is suggestive of theater backdrops on a shallow stage. Zurbaran's late works, such as the ''Saint Francis'' (c. 1658–1664;

Alte Pinakothek The Alte Pinakothek (, ''Old Pinakothek'') is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses a significant collection of Old Master paintings. The name Alte (Old) Pinak ...

) show the influence of Murillo and

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

in their looser brushwork and softer contrasts.

Artistic legacy

In 1631, he painted the great

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

of '' The Apotheosis of Saint Thomas Aquinas'', now in the

Museum of Fine Arts of Seville The Museum of Fine Arts of Seville ( es, Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla) is a museum in Seville, Spain, a collection of mainly Spanish visual arts from the medieval period to the early 20th century, including a choice selection of works by arti ...

; it was executed for the church of the college of that saint. This is Zurbarán's largest composition, containing figures of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

, the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, various saints,

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

with knights, and Archbishop Deza (founder of the college) with monks and servitors, all the principal personages being more than life-size. It had been preceded by numerous pictures for the

retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate structur ...

of St. Peter in the cathedral of Seville. Between 1628 and 1634, he painted four scenes from the life of St. Peter Nolasco for the Principal Monastery of the Calced Mercedarians in Seville. In Santa Maria de Guadalupe he painted multiple large pictures, eight of which relate to the history of

St. Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is com ...

; and in the church of

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, Seville, a figure of the Crucified Saviour, in

grisaille Grisaille ( or ; french: grisaille, lit=greyed , from ''gris'' 'grey') is a painting executed entirely in shades of grey or of another neutral greyish colour. It is particularly used in large decorative schemes in imitation of sculpture. Many g ...

, creating an illusion of

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

. In 1639, he completed the paintings of the high altar of the

Jerez Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the c ...

. Also in the 1630s he was commissioned to provide canvases representing the Labours of

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

, the only group of mythological subjects from the hand of Zurbarán, which were installed in the

Hall of Realms The ''Salón de Reinos'' (translated as "Hall of the Kingdoms" or "Hall of Realms") or ''salón grande'' ("great hall") is a 17th-century building in Madrid, originally a wing of the Buen Retiro Palace. The Salón de Reinos and the Casón del Bu ...

in Madrid. A fine example of his work is in the

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

: a whole-length, life-sized figure of a kneeling Saint Francis holding a skull. In 1835, paintings by Zurbarán were confiscated from monasteries and displayed in the new

Museum of Cádiz The Museum of Cadiz is a museum located in Cádiz, Spain. It was founded in 1970 after the merger of the Provincial Museum of Fine Arts with the Provincial Museum of Archaeology. It is on three floors, archaeology on the ground floor, art on the f ...

. His principal pupils were Bernabé de Ayala, Juan Caro de Tavira, and the Polanco brothers; others included

Ignacio de Ries Ignacio de Ries (c. 1612 – after 1661) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Life He was probably born in Flanders, then part of the Spanish Netherlands. Written sources show him active in Seville between 1636 and 1661. From his very first works ...

. Zurbarán was the subject of a major exhibition in 1987 at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

in New York, which traveled in 1988 to

Galeries nationales du Grand Palais The galeries nationales du Grand Palais (Grand Palais National Galleries) are museum spaces located in the Grand Palais in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. They serve as home to major art exhibits and cultural events programmed by the Réunion ...

in Paris. In 2015, the

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum (in Spanish, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (), named after its founder), or simply the Thyssen, is an art museum in Madrid, Spain, located near the Prado Museum on one of the city's main boulevards. I ...

in Madrid presented ''Zurbarán. A New Perspective''.

Selected works

*'' Christ on the Cross'' (1627),

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

* ''Hercules and the Hydra'' *'' St Hugh in the Carthusian Refectory'' (1630–1635),

*'' Still Life with Pots'' (1650),

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

(autographed version)

Gallery

File:SantoDomingoenSoriano.jpg, '' Santo Domingo en Soriano'', 1626,

Santa María Magdalena, Seville Santa María Magdalena is a Baroque church in Seville, southern Spain. It was built in 1691-1709 to a design of architect Leonardo de Figueroa. It is the seat of various ''hermandades'' ( confraternities which participate in the religious process ...

File:San Serapio, por Francisco de Zurbarán.jpg, ''Saint Serapion'', 1628,

Wadsworth Atheneum The Wadsworth Atheneum is an art museum in Hartford, Connecticut. The Wadsworth is noted for its collections of European Baroque art, ancient Egyptian and Classical bronzes, French and American Impressionist paintings, Hudson River School lands ...

File:Visión de San Pedro Nolasco.jpg, ''Visión de San Pedro Nolasco'', 1629, Museo del Prado File:Inmaculada (Zurbarán).jpg, ''Immaculate Conception'', 1630, Museo del Prado File:Zurbaran.jpg, ''The Death of St. Bonaventure'' (''The Body of St. Bonaventure in the Presence of

Pope Gregory X Pope Gregory X ( la, Gregorius X; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. He was ...

and

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 1276 ...

''), 1629–1630,

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

File:La Virgen niña en éxtasis, por Francisco de Zurbarán.jpg, '' The Young Virgin'', 1630, Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Francisco de Zurbarán 047.jpg, '' St. Margaret as a shepherdess'', 1631

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

File:Francisco de Zurbarán 014.jpg, '' The Defence of Cádiz against the English'', 1634, Museo del Prado File:Francisco de Zurbarán - Doctor of Law.jpg, ''A Doctor of Law'', 1635,

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. It was founded ...

File:Santa Isabel de Portugal.jpg, ''Santa Isabel de Portugal'', c. 1635, Museo del Prado File:Francisco de Zurbarán 046.jpg, '' Saint Luke as a Painter before Christ on the Cross'', c. 1635–1640, Museo del Prado File:La Anunciación, por Francisco de Zurbarán.jpg, ''The Annunciation'', 1637–1639,

Museum of Grenoble The Museum of Grenoble (french: Musée de Grenoble) is a municipal museum of Fine Arts and antiquities in the city of Grenoble in the Isère region of France. Located on the left bank of the Isère River, place Lavalette, it is known both for it ...

, France File:Francisco de Zurbarán 049.jpg, '' Saint Rufina'', c. 1635–1640,

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on ...

File:Francisco de Zurbarán - The Adoration of the Shepherds WGA.jpg, ''The Adoration of the Shepherds'', 1638,

File:Saint Francis of assisi in his tomb.jpg, ''Saint Francis of Assisi in His Tomb'', 1630/34,

Milwaukee Art Museum The Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) is an art museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its collection contains nearly 25,000 works of art. Location and Visit Located on the lakefront of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum is one of the largest art museu ...

File:Francisco de Zurbarán 009.jpg, ''Saint Francis in Meditation'', 1639, National Gallery File:La casa de Nazaret, por Zurbarán.jpg, '' Christ and the Virgin in the House at Nazareth'',
c. 1631–1640,

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

File:Francisco de Zurbarán - The Holy Family.jpg, ''The Holy Family'', 1659, Szépmûvészeti Múzeum File:Christ recovering clothing after flagellation.jpg, ''Christ, recovering clothing after flagellation'' c. 1661, Jadraque, Spain Zurbarán_Christ_at_the_Column.jpg, ''Christ at the Column'', 1661,

National Museum, Wrocław The National Museum in Wrocław ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe we Wrocławiu), established 28 March 1947 and officially inaugurated on 11 July 1948, is one of Poland's main branches of the National Museum system. It holds one of the largest collections of ...

File:Francisco de Zurbarán - St Francis - WGA26075.jpg, ''Saint Francis'', c. 1658–1664, Alte Pinakothek File:Francisco de Zurbarán, The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian.png, ''The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian'', MNHA Luxembourg File:Francisco de Zurbarán 006.jpg, ''Agnus Dei'', c. 1635–1640, Museo del Prado

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF) {{DEFAULTSORT:Zurbaran, Francisco De Francisco de Zurbarán, 1598 births 1664 deaths People from Tentudía Spanish Baroque painters Painters from Extremadura 17th-century Spanish painters Spanish male painters Spanish still life painters Caravaggisti Catholic painters