Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Zurbarán and Zurbarán

Francisco de Zurbarán
St Ursula
ca. 1635-40
oil on canvas
Musei di Strada Nuova, Genoa

Francisco de Zurbarán
St Dorothy
1640
canvas
Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla

 
Francisco de Zurbarán
Infant Christ
ca. 1635-40
oil on panel
Pushkin Museum, Moscow

"Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664) a native of the town of Fuente de Cantos and resident of the city of Seville, began his study of art in Estremadura with some disciple of the divine Morales.  Afterwards, in order to perfect his art, he went to Seville to the school of Juan de las Roelas and did so well that he earned the reputation of an excellent painter by means of the many works he did.  Particularly noteworthy are those by his hand in the small cloister of the Merced Calzada in said city, which show the story of St. Peter Nolasco."

Francisco de Zurbarán
St Peter Nolasco recovering the image of the Virgin
1630
oil on canvas
Cincinnati Art Museum

"This artist was so studious that he used mannequins when he painted drapery and a live model for the flesh tones, following the school of Caravaggio, a painter whom he liked so much that someone seeing his works, and not knowing whose they are, will not hesitate to attribute them to Caravaggio. . . . It is a well-known story that when he returned to live in Fuente de Cantos, his birthplace, the city of Seville sent a delegation to him, asking him if he would deign to come to live in Seville to honor it with his presence and eminent skill.  Since there were at that time other famous painters in the city, he agreed to go, as was befitting such an honor. It is certain that besides his talent he was a highly recommendable person because of his appearance, dress, and natural endowments.  And they even say that they offered him a house . . . "

Francisco de Zurbarán
St Ambrosius
ca. 1626-27
oil on canvas
Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla

Francisco de Zurbarán
St Elisabeth of Portugal
ca. 1635
oil on canvas
Prado, Madrid

Francisco de Zurbarán
St Casilda
ca. 1630-35
oil on canvas
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Francisco de Zurbarán
Archangel Gabriel
ca. 1630-31
canvas
Musée Fabre, Montpellier

"Finally he came to Madrid around the year 1650, called by Velázquez at the King's orders, where he executed the paintings of the Labors of Hercules that are in the salon in the Palace of the Buen Retiro over the large pictures. And they say that when he was painting them, Philip IV, on one of the many occasions he came to watch him work, approached him one time and, putting his hand on his shoulder, said to him, "Painter of the King and King of Painters."

 quoted passages above are from the life of the artist by Antonio Palomino de Castro (Madrid, 1724) as translated by Jonathan Brown in Italian and Spanish Art, 1600-1750 : Sources and Documents (Northwestern University Press,1992)

Francisco de Zurbarán
Bodegón
ca. 1650
oil on canvas
Prado, Madrid

Francisco de Zurbarán
Cup of water and Rose
ca. 1630
oil on canvas
National Gallery, London

Francisco de Zurbarán
Still-life with lemons oranges and a rose
1633
oil on canvas
Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena

Francsico's son Juan de Zurbarán (1620-49) trained with his father in Seville. He demonstrated an inclination toward the still-life aspect of his father's practice, and seems to have avoided religious iconography.  Perhaps he would have moved in additional directions if he had not died while still in his twenties during an unfortunate episode of plague at Seville.

Juan de Zurbarán
 Bodegón de limones
1640
oil on canvas
Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid

Juan de Zurbarán
Still-life with plate of apples and orange blossom
ca. 1640
oil on canvas
private collection

Juan de Zurbarán
Basket with Apples, Quinces, Pomegranates
ca. 1643-45
oil on canvas
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona