Zurbaran, << `thur` bah RAHN or `zur` bah RAHN, >> Francisco de (1598-1664), was a famous Spanish artist. Zurbaran was one of the most skillful interpreters of the monastic life, the Counter Reformation, and religious aspirations of Spain in the 1600’s (see Counter Reformation ). His subjects included meditating monks, saints, and Christian legends. His most effective paintings have only one or two figures placed in dreamlike landscapes or set against neutral dark backgrounds.
Zurbaran’s style is characterized by precise outlines, dramatic modeling in light and shade (called tenebrism), and intense realism. Zurbaran was a great painter of still-life subjects, such as earthenware jugs. His attention to the surface details and textures of objects carried over into his figure painting. His images of saints often seem to be portraits of real people in ordinary dress.
Zurbaran was born on Nov. 7, 1598, in the region of Extremadura. He painted his finest works for monasteries in Seville, Jerez, and Guadalupe between 1629 and 1640. He died on Aug. 27, 1664. Zurbaran’s works strongly influenced painting in Spain’s American colonies.
