Zurbaran

Dedicated to Francisco de Zurbaran, one of the greatest painters of seventeenth-century Spain, this publication celebrates the drama and power of his distinctive body of work

Francisco de Zurbaran is, alongside Diego Velazquez and Bartolome Esteban Murillo, one of the three great painters of seventeenth-century Spain. His works are celebrated for their startling naturalism, directness, and deep emotional power. He spent most of his life in Seville, then one of the richest cities in Europe, whose maritime links to the Americas made it a hub of global trade. Although he painted mostly for the city's vast number of religious orders, he also worked for private patrons and the King of Spain, producing altarpieces and painting cycles of staggering scale and ingenuity. An acute observer of reality, his still-life paintings and works for private devotion still appear strikingly vivid today.

Written by experts in the field and featuring exciting new discoveries, this beautifully illustrated publication will explore Zurbaran's most important commissions, portraits and domestic scenes, offering a fresh appraisal of this singularly gifted artist.

Published by The National Gallery Group/Distributed by Yale University Press

Exhibition Schedule:

The National Gallery, London

(2 May-23 August 2026)

Musee du Louvre, Paris

(7 October 2026-25 January 2027)

Art Institute of Chicago

(28 February-20 June 2027)