Zurbaran

Zurbaran: A New Perspective, 187 pages

Regular visitors to the St Louis Art Museum should be familiar with St Francis Contemplating a Skull, one of a number of works on that theme by 17th century Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbaran.  One of the masters of the golden age of Spanish painting, Zurbaran is noted for his remarkable still lifes as well as his religious paintings, and indeed the best features of the latter reflect the strengths of the former, particularly the stunning monumental character of his human figures.  Unfortunately, as the commentary concedes, Zurbaran was less successful when it came to arranging multiple figures within a single composition.

The "New Perspective" exhibition organized by the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in 2015 also incorporated works by other painters influenced by Zurbaran, most notably his son Juan, whose still lifes may surpass his father's.  Unfortunately, Juan de Zurbaran died of the plague at the age of 29, and his potential was never able to fully mature.  Long obscure, a number of Juan's works have been identified in the last few decades, allowing a new appreciation for his unfortunately limited corpus.