Portrait of Francisco de Zurbaran

Francisco de Zurbaran Painting Reproductions 2 of 2

1598-1664

Spanish Baroque Painter

Francisco Zurbarán (November 7, 1598 - August 27, 1664), was a Spanish painter, born at Fuente de Cantos in Extremadura. His father was Luis Zurbarán, a country labourer; his mother, Isabel Marquet.
In childhood he set about imitating objects with charcoal. His father sent him, still young, to the school of Juan de Roelas in Seville. Zurbarán soon became the best pupil in the studio of Roelas, surpassing the master himself. Even though Seville was full of able painters, he left with a solid reputation.
Style
He may have had here the opportunity of copying some of the paintings of Michelangelo da Caravaggio; at any rate, he gained the name of the Spanish Caravaggio, owing to the forcible, realistic style in which he excelled. He constantly painted direct from nature, following but occasionally improving on his model; and he made great use of the lay-figure in the study of draperies, in which he was peculiarly proficient. He had a special gift for white draperies; as a consequence, the houses of the white-robed Carthusians 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 seldom thronged and 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.
Later life
While in Seville, Zurbarán married Leonor de Jordera, by whom he had several children. 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. It was only in 1658, late in Zurbarán’s life that he moved to Madrid in search of work and renewed his contact with Velazquez. Zurbarán died in poverty and obscurity.
Artistic Legacy
In 1627 he painted the great altarpiece of St. Thomas Aquinas, now in the Seville museum; it was executed for the church of the college of that saint there. This is Zurbarán's largest composition, containing figures of Christ, the Madonna, various saints, Charles V 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 of the screen of St. Peter Nolasco in the cathedral.
In Santa Maria de Guadalupe he painted various large pictures, eight of which relate to the history of St. Jerome; and in the church of Saint Paul, Seville, a famous figure of the Crucified Saviour, in grisaille, creating an illusion of marble. In 1633 he finished the paintings of the high altar of the Carthusians in Jerez. In the palace of Buenretiro, Madrid are four large canvases representing the Labours of Hercules, an unusual instance of non-Christian subjects from the hand of Zurbarán. A fine example of his work is in the National Gallery, London: a whole-length, life-sized figure of a kneeling Franciscan holding a skull. It seems probable that another picture in the same gallery, the Dead Roland, which used to be ascribed to Diego Velázquez, is really by Zurbarán. His principal scholars, whose style has as much affinity to Ribera as to Caravaggio, were Bernabe de Ayala and the brothers Polanco.

43 Zurbaran Paintings

The Childhood of the Virgin, c.1660 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

The Childhood of the Virgin c.1660

Oil Painting
$1351
Canvas Print
$91.49
SKU: ZUR-7812
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 73.5 x 53.5 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

St Lawrence, 1636 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

St Lawrence 1636

Oil Painting
$2062
Canvas Print
$96.99
SKU: ZUR-7813
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 292 x 225 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

The Infant Christ, c.1635/40 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

The Infant Christ c.1635/40

Oil Painting
$1075
Canvas Print
$49.85
SKU: ZUR-7814
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 42 x 27 cm
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia

St Bonaventura in Prayer, 1629 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

St Bonaventura in Prayer 1629

Oil Painting
$2335
Canvas Print
$68.81
SKU: ZUR-7815
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 239 x 222 cm
Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany

St Fernando, c.1630/34 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

St Fernando c.1630/34

Oil Painting
$1931
Canvas Print
$49.85
SKU: ZUR-7816
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 129 x 61 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

The Young Virgin, c.1632/33 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

The Young Virgin c.1632/33

Oil Painting
$2250
Canvas Print
$74.19
SKU: ZUR-7817
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 116.8 x 94 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Crucified Jesus, c.1630/40 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

Crucified Jesus c.1630/40

Oil Painting
$1332
Canvas Print
$49.85
SKU: ZUR-7818
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 255 x 193 cm
Museo de Bellas Artes, Seville, Spain

The Virgin of the Caves, c.1655 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

The Virgin of the Caves c.1655

Canvas Print
$49.85
SKU: ZUR-7819
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 267 x 320 cm
Museo de Bellas Artes, Seville, Spain

Saint Francis, c.1640/45 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

Saint Francis c.1640/45

Oil Painting
$1229
Canvas Print
$49.85
SKU: ZUR-7820
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 207 x 106.7 cm
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts, USA

Saint Lucy, c.1625/30 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

Saint Lucy c.1625/30

Oil Painting
$1285
Canvas Print
$49.85
SKU: ZUR-7821
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 105 x 77 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA

A Cup of Water and a Rose on a Silver Plate, c.1630 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

A Cup of Water and a Rose on a Silver Plate c.1630

Oil Painting
$895
Canvas Print
$49.85
SKU: ZUR-7822
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 21.2 x 30.1 cm
National Gallery, London, United Kingdom

Saint Francis in Meditation, c.1635/39 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

Saint Francis in Meditation c.1635/39

Oil Painting
$1410
Canvas Print
$81.56
SKU: ZUR-7823
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 152 x 99 cm
National Gallery, London, United Kingdom

Saint Margaret of Antioch, c.1630/34 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

Saint Margaret of Antioch c.1630/34

Oil Painting
$1799
Canvas Print
$79.61
SKU: ZUR-7824
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 163 x 105 cm
National Gallery, London, United Kingdom

Saint Francis in Prayer, c.1638/39 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

Saint Francis in Prayer c.1638/39

Oil Painting
$1422
Canvas Print
$71.75
SKU: ZUR-7825
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 117.5 x 90.2 cm
Norton Simon Museum of Art, Pasadena, USA

Portrait of Fray Diego Deza, c.1630 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Fray Diego Deza c.1630

Oil Painting
$1543
Canvas Print
$75.86
SKU: ZUR-7826
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 166.4 x 137.8 cm
Norton Simon Museum of Art, Pasadena, USA

The Birth of the Virgin, c.1627 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

The Birth of the Virgin c.1627

Canvas Print
$71.14
SKU: ZUR-7827
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 141 x 108.6 cm
Norton Simon Museum of Art, Pasadena, USA

The Annunciation, 1650 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

The Annunciation 1650

Oil Painting
$2062
Canvas Print
$51.91
SKU: ZUR-7828
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 217.5 x 316.2 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania, USA

Saint Elisabeth of Portugal, c.1635 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

Saint Elisabeth of Portugal c.1635

Oil Painting
$1453
Canvas Print
$49.85
SKU: ZUR-16763
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 184 x 98 cm
Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain

Still Life with Vessels, c.1650 by Zurbaran | Painting Reproduction

Still Life with Vessels c.1650

Oil Painting
$1248
Canvas Print
$50.27
SKU: ZUR-16764
Francisco de Zurbaran
Original Size: 46 x 84 cm
Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain

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