Background
Francisco de Zurbarán was born in 1598 in Fuente de Cantos, Spain and baptized on November 7 of that year. He was a son of Luis de Zurbarán, a haberdasher, and Isabel Márquez.
Calle de Bailén, s/n, 28071 Madrid, Spain
The Madrid Royal Palace where Francisco de Zurbarán served as a court painter of the King Philip IV.
Francisco de Zurbarán was born in 1598 in Fuente de Cantos, Spain and baptized on November 7 of that year. He was a son of Luis de Zurbarán, a haberdasher, and Isabel Márquez.
Francisco de Zurbarán began to copy different objects as a child using charcoal.
When sixteen-year-old, he moved to Seville, Spain where he became an apprentice of Pedro Díaz de Villanueva, a mediocre artist. The latter taught him for two years.
Francisco de Zurbarán started his independent painting activity from opening a workshop in Llerena, Badajoz, Spain in 1617. During his 11 years in this town, Francisco received so many commissions that he had to employ assistants.
The first painter's contract with a commission of 21 paintings was signed on January 17, in 1626 with the prior of the Dominican monastery San Pablo el Real in Seville. One of the paintings was named Christ on a Cross. Two years later, on August 29, Zurbarán had a commission from the Mercedarians of Seville according to which the painter was obliged to create 22 paintings for the cloister in their monastery.
In 1629, Francisco de Zurbarán relocated his workshop to Seville accepting an invitation from the Seville Town Council which expected to increase the reputation of the town by already famous Zurbarán's paintings.
The year of 1634 became a peak of Zurbarán's career. The artist received a commission from Diego Velázquez who worked on the decorations for the new Royal Palace in Madrid. According to the commission, Francisco de Zurbarán executed for the Hall of Realms two battle scenes, part of Velázquez's Surrender of Breda, and ten Labors of Hercules. So, Zurbarán became a Painter to the King Philip IV who later called him the king of painters.
In November, Francisco de Zurbarán returned to Seville where he continued to paint at his workshop. The produced paintings weren't of high quality because of incompetence of numerous assistants Zurbarán hired. This fact along with descending popularity of the young painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo provoked the decline of Zurbarán's career. Francisco de Zurbarán was obliged to export his works to South America, in particular, to Lima and Buenos Aires. In 1658, the painter came to Madrid in search for new commissions, but this time, the artist had no significant success there.
The Death of St. Bonaventura
The Immaculate Conception with Saint Joachim and Saint Anne
Adoration of the Shepherds
Adoration of the Shepherds
St. Jerome
Apotheosis of St. Thomas Aquinas
Angel with Incense
The Virgin of the Carthusians
St. Francis
Old Woman Spinning
Meditation of St. Francis
Portrait of Fra Gonzalo de Illescas
St. Francis in Meditation
The Immaculate Conception
The Child Jesus in the Spine
Hercules Fighting with the Nemean Lion
The Savior Blessing
Apostle St. Andrew
The Dream of Saint Joseph
St. Agatha
St. Pierre Pascal, Bishop of Jaen
Christ on the Cross
The Death of Hercules
St. Francis Kneeling
St. Anthony of Padua
The Young Virgin
Still Life
Portrait of a Boy (The Duke of Medinaceli)
Adoration of the Magi
St. Hugh of Cluny in the Refectory of the Carthusians
Saint Margaret, Dressed as a Shepherdess
St. Luke as a Painter before Christ on the Cross
St. Engracia
Saint Ursula
Scene from the Life of Saint Pierre Theophile
The Denial of Saint Peter
Portrait of Fra Zumel Francisco
The Annunciation, Monastery of Nuestra Señora de la Defensión at Jerez de la Frontera)
Flight into Egypt
Vision of Blessed Alonso Rodriguez
St. Anthony Dispirited
Brother Alonso de Ocana
Angel with Incense
St. Catherine of Alexandria
St. Bartholomew Almost in Agony
The Virgin of the Rosary Venerated by Carthusians
The Immaculate Conception
St. Apollonia
The Temptation of St. Jerome
Saint Marina
Madonna with Child
St. Jerome with St. Paula and St. Eustochium
St. Romanus and St. Barulas of Antioch
St. Gregory
The Immaculate Conception
Death of a Religious
St. Barbe
Appearance of St. Peter to St. Peter Nolasco
Saint Lucy
Hercules Fighting with the Lernaean Hydra
Flagellation of St. Jerome by the Angels
The Mercy of Fra Martin de Vizcaya
Beato Serapio
St. Francis Contemplating a Skull
Saint Lucy
St. Carmel
Birth of the Virgin
Vision of St. Peter Nolasco
St. Casilda of Toledo
St. Jerome
St. Eulalia
The Immaculate Conception
The Holy Face
Still Life
Rest on the Flight to Egypt
St. Lawrence
Saint Lucy
Brother Pedro Machado
Saint Mathilda
Still Life with Dish of Quince
The House of Nazareth
The Defence of Cadiz against the English
St. Bonaventure
St. Dorothy
Agnus Dei
The Circumcision (Monastery of Nuestra Señora de la Defensión at Jerez de la Frontera)
The Childhood of the Virgin
St. Rufina of Seville
Funeral
St. Bonaventure at the Council of Lyons
The Immaculate Conception
St. Francis
Francisco de Zurbarán was married three times. María Paet became his first wife in 1617. In 1624, she died after having three children. A year later, Francisco de Zurbarán married a wealthy widow Beatriz de Morales.
The last painter's wife was Leonor de Torder, with whom Francisco created family on February 7, 1644.