Zurbarán

The strange, very Catholic world of Francisco de
Zurbarán’s paintings is as fascinating today as it is
essentially foreign. Christ on the Cross, dead martyrs,
remote saints, meditating monks, the superiors of
orders that have long since been dissolved, all appear
in images, usually with a black ground, so realistically
one feels one could reach out and touch them. And yet
they have the feel of messengers from a different
world.
In his essay for this book, Dutch writer Cees
Nooteboom compares Zurbarán’s figures with aliens:
“From their faces with wide-open eyes comes a ray
that is precisely not that of death, but speaks of a
silent ecstasy, a mystical devoutness that is no
longer of this world.” For Zurbarán (1598–1664),
a contemporary of Velázquez and Murillo, painting
and religious immersion were two sides of the same
exercise. Perhaps it is precisely this aspect of his art
that is ensuring his images are once again attracting
so much interest.