Zurbarán. Master of Spain's Golden Age @ BOZAR

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664) is, alongside Velázquez and Murillo, one of the most important Baroque painters of Spain's Golden Age. Exactly 350 years after his death and for the first time in Belgium, a retrospective of his art can be seen.

The exhibition is organised thematically and chronologically and covers the key phases of the artist's career.

His art

Some 50 outstanding paintings from the most prestigious collections have been brought together. The exhibition includes such renowned works as the Prado’s Still Life with Four Vessels and the San Diego Museum’s Agnus Dei.

Four newly identified works by the artist are on display for the first time (two of them are Appearance of the Virgin to Saint Peter Nolasco and Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine). Six paintings have been especially restored for the occasion; among them are the Saint Nicholas of Bari from the Monastery of Guadalupe, the Saint Gabriel the Archangel and the haunting Saint Francis.

Religious influence

Zurbarán's art is predominantly made up of works with religious subjects, such as scenes from the lives of saints, martyrs, and monks, often commissioned by churches and monastic orders. Like his patrons, he was strongly committed to the energetic counter-reformation spirit of the Catholic Church.

Stylistically, he developed a unique visual language in which he combined pure naturalism with a modern poetic sensibility.