The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist - Bilbao Fine Arts Museum

Buy image

The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist

Zurbarán, Francisco de

Fuente de Cantos, Badajoz, 07/11/1598-Madrid, 27/08/1664

Oil on canvas

169 x 127 cm

Franco De zurbaran (lower centre on a label)

1662

Third quarter of the 17th century

69/249

Acquired in 1940

Of all the paintings that Zurbarán made in Madrid in the latter stages of his career, there are several depicting the Virgin with Child in half-length, a new theme in the painter's oeuvre. They are intimate yet highly finished works imbued with a particular charm and wholly from the hand of the old master, who proves that he has lost none of his qualities in his wholesale live model painting. In these works meant for private devotion, which are clearly similar formally and iconographically, what draws our attention is precisely the variations on this approachable, charming theme, which was a resounding success among his devout clients of Madrid in 1658-1662.

Saint John the Baptist's visit to the Holy Family does not appear in the canonical gospels. However, in the 13th century, Pseudo-Bonaventure's Meditations on the Life of Christ suggested this visit by the young Saint John as a topic of reflection for the faithful. The encounter between the young John the Baptist and his divine cousin was accepted as a historical fact in the religious treatises from the 17th century because it offered a very pleasing theme, yet one that was also sadly prophetic. The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist depicts precisely this episode. All of the elements of the interpretation of this scene as a premonition of the Passion appear here: the meek lamb, a symbol of the Paschal victim, the cross carried by the holy child and the fruit on the table as symbols of man's salvation. The Christ Child is blessing his cousin, the harbinger of the future who kisses his hand in adoration. The Virgin is holding a book of the Old Testament closed after meditation, and her face expresses a sad resignation at Christ's fate. The prophetic iconography in this apparently domestic scene has been traditional since the Middle Ages.

To date, this is the last known work by Zurbarán and the only one dated from 1662 with a sign that seems to have been attached to the surface of the canvas with a bit of red wax, as in other works by the painter. The composition shows a pyramidal structure and clearly harks back to the models from the Renaissance developed by Raphael which Zurbarán may have admired in the royal collections in Madrid. We know that the painter conserved several series of prints in his Madrid atelier, and faithful to his working method, he referred to these models to compose his paintings, studying their compositions and "drawing inspiration, as has ever been the norm, in the works of his immediate and remote predecessors", as Diego Angulo wrote on his fellow contemporary master, Diego Velázquez. In this case, he used Dürer's famous Virgin and Child with the Monkey engraved in 1498 as a source, as Angulo also published in 1944. We believe that Zurbarán may have also used Raphael's Madonna del Granduca (Galleria Palatina, Florence), which he may have been familiar with via an engraving or an old copy, to paint this extraordinarily vivacious Christ Child, which is a departure from his usual serene style. Other distant Italian models have also been related to this painting, with its profound symbolic resonance. However, regardless of these influences, the last painting by Zurbarán is a masterpiece which shows that his brief final period -around four years- was one of the most fertile and meaningful in his career as an artist, with numerous works signed and dated on the aforementioned little piece of folded paper bearing his signature, a veritable trompe-l'oeil placed in the foreground for all to see.

In the last period of his career, he often depicted this same Virgin, dark-haired and dark-skinned, with an oval face and almond eyes, leaning her head towards her right shoulder. She is wearing a carmine tunic and a bright blue cloak, just as in the other paintings depicting this theme, with the same light brownish veil around her neck. The tiny blond Jesus, almost naked, is also the same charming, lifelike child which he used as a model around this time. Little Saint John, who is not very handsome but is moving, with his attentive face, is wearing a brown sheepskin secured with a leather belt. On the sideboard on the right, which is covered in dark green, the gleaming metal of the traditional shiny plate made of pewter or silver reflects beautiful red apples and rosy- yellow pears. These elements are an incredible still life in themselves and prove, as if it were necessary at this stage, that the elderly Zurbarán had never ceased being a great painter. The softening of his painting technique does not thwart the quality of this last painting, whose beauty remains inalterable. In his later years in Madrid, the old painter continued to give his figures a highly characteristic corporal presence, now accentuated with subtle shaping. [Odile Delenda]

Selected bibliography

  • Madoz, Pascual. Diccionario geográfico-estadístico-historico de España y sus posesiones de ultramar. Madrid, [s. n.], 1847. p. 861.
  • Catálogo de la Galería de Cuadros del Excmo. Sr. D. José de Madrazo .... Madrid, Imprenta de D. Cipriano Lopez, 1856. p. 108, n° cat. 450. (Con el título Sagrada familia)
  • Angulo Íñiguez, Diego. "Cinco nuevos cuadros de Zurbarán", Archivo Español de Arte, n° 61. 1944. pp. 7-8, il.
  • Angulo Íñiguez, Diego. "El Apostolado de Zurbarán del Museo de Lisboa", Archivo Español de Arte, n° 70. 1945. p. 234.
  • Gaya Nuño, Juan Antonio. Zurbarán. Barcelona, Aedos, 1948. p. 174, il.
  • Soria, Martín S. "Letters to the editor", The Art Bulletin, n° 1. 1948. p. 74.
  • Soria, Martín S. The paintings of Zurbarán. London, Phaidon Press, 1953. pp. 21, 32, 187-188, n° cat. 223.
  • Zurbarán : exposición acompañada de ocho cuadros [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Ministerio de Educación Nacional, Dirección General de Bellas Artes, 1953. pp. 29, 43, n° cat. 50.
  • Lafuente Ferrari, Enrique. Breve historia de la pintura española. Madrid, Tecnos, 1953. p. 292.
  • L'Âge d'or espagnol : la peinture en Espagne et en France autour du caravagisme [Cat. exp.]. Bordeaux, Musée des Beaux-Arts, 1955. p. 22, n° cat. 86. (Con el título La Vierge, l´Enfant et Saint Jean enfant)
  • Angulo Íñiguez, Diego. Pintura del siglo XVII. Madrid, Plus-Ultra, 1958. p. 133.
  • Guinard, Paul. Zurbaran et les peintres espagnols de la vie monastique. Paris, Les Editions du Temps, 1960. p. 215, n° cat. 52.
  • Torres Martín, Ramón. Zurbarán : el pintor gótico del siglo XVI. Sevilla, Gráficas del Sur, 1963. n° cat. 266.
  • Gaya Nuño, Juan Antonio. La pintura española en los museos provinciales. Madrid, Aguilar, 1964. pp. 183-186, n° cat. 48.
  • Zurbarán en el III centenario de su muerte [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Dirección General de Bellas Artes, 1964. p. 194, n° cat. 102.
  • Lasterra, Crisanto de. Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : catálogo descriptivo : sección de arte antiguo. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 1969. pp. 118-119, n° cat. 249. (Con el título La Virgen con el Niño Jesús y San Juan niño, y atribuido a ZURBARÁN, Francisco de).
  • Brown, Jonathan. Francisco de Zurbarán. New York, Harry N. Abrams, 1974. pp. 154-155. Colorplate n° 48..
  • Frati, Tiziana. La obra pictórica completa de Zurbarán. Barcelona ; Madrid, Noguer, 1976. n° cat. 504.
  • Gallego, Julián ; Gudiol Ricart, José. Zurbarán, 1598-1664. Barcelona, Poligrafa, 1976. pp. 19, 119, 359, 368.
  • La Navidad en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bizkaiko Aurrezki Kutxa, 1980. p. 49, lám. 26.
  • Catálogo Monumental de Navarra. Pamplona, Institución Príncipe de Viana ; Arzobispado de Pamplona ; Universidad de Navarra, 1982. s.p., il.
  • Luna Fernández, Juan José . "Dos retratos de Guillaume Voiriot en España", Goya : revista de arte, n° 198. 1987. pp. 322-325, il.
  • Luna, Juan José. "Zurbarán en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao", Urtekaria 1986 : asterlanak, albistak = Anuario 1986 : estudios, crónicas. 1987. pp. 15, 17.
  • Zurbarán [Cat. exp.]. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. pp. 311-314, n° cat. 71.
  • Zurbarán [Cat. exp.]. París, Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1988. pp. 339-342, n° cat. 71.
  • Guinard, Paul. Zurbarán et les peintres espagnols de la vie monastique. París, Les Editions du Temps, 1988. n° cat. 83.
  • Valdivieso, Enrique. Francisco de Zurbarán. Sevilla, Ediciones Guadalquivir, 1988. n° cat. 41.
  • Zurbarán [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Ministerio de Cultura, 1988. pp. 374-376, n° cat. 92.
  • Alcolea, Santiago. Zurbarán. Barcelona, Plígrafa, 1989. n° cat. 109.
  • Tesoros del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : pintura, 1400-1939 [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, El Viso, 1989. pp. 51-53, n° cat. 11.
  • Capolavori dal Museo di Bellas Artes di Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Roma, Leonardo-De Luca Editori, 1991. pp. 32-34, n° cat. 9. (Con el título Vergine col Bambino e San Giovanninoy atribuido a Francisco de Zurbarán)
  • Karge, Henrik. Vision Oder Wirklichkeit : Die spanische Malerei der Neuzeit. München, Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1991. p. 120.
  • Valdivieso, Enrique. La Pintura Sevillana de los Siglos de Oro [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Ministerio de Cultura, 1991. pp. 98-99, n° cat. 34.
  • Da Velázquez a Murillo : il ”siglo de oro” in Andalusia [Cat. exp.]. Milano, Olivetti ; Electa, 1993. pp. 94-95, n° cat. 17.
  • Galilea Antón, Ana María. Catalogación y estudio de los fondos de Pintura Española del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao del siglo XIII al XVIII (de 1270 a 1700) [tesis inédita]. 1993. pp. 823-837. (Con el título 'La Virgen con el Niño Jesús y San Juan Niño', y atribuido a Francisco de Zurbarán)
  • Galilea Antón, Ana María. Catalogación y estudio de los fondos de Pintura Española del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao del siglo XIII al XVIII (de 1270 a 1700) [tesis inédita]. 1993. pp. 448-451, figs. 345, 345a, 345b, 345c. (Con el título La Virgen con el Niño Jesús y San Juan Niño, y atribuido a Francisco de Zurbarán)
  • Caturla, María Luisa. Francisco de Zurbarán. París, Wildenstein Institute, 1994. pp. 234, 238 y 330,
  • Galilea Antón, Ana María. "La colección de Pintura Española anterior a 1700 en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao", Urtekaria 1994 : asterlanak, albistak = Anuario 1994 : estudios, crónicas. 1995. pp. 17, 38, 41. (Con el título La Virgen con el Niño Jesús y San Juan Niño, y atribuido a Francisco de ZURBARÁN)..
  • Spanyol Mestermüvek a Bilbaói Szépmüvészeti Múzeumból [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao ; Banco Bilbao Vizcaya, 1996. pp. 80-82, n° cat. 11. (Con el título Szüz Mária a gyermek Jézussal és a gyermek Szent Jánossal = La Virgen con el Niño Jesús y San Juan niño, y atribuido a Francisco de Zurbarán)
  • Zurbarán al Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya [Cat. exp.]. Barcelona, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, 1998. pp. 144-149, n° cat. 17.
  • Zurbarán : IV centenario [Cat. exp.]. Sevilla, Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Cultura, 1998. pp. 250-251, n° cat. 92.
  • José de Madrazo, 1781-1859 [Cat. exp.]. Santander, Fundación Marcelino Botín, 1998. pp. 166 y 174.
  • Francisco de Zurbarán, 1598-1664 [Cat. exp.]. Granada, Centro Cultural la General, 1999. p. 67.
  • Zugaza, Miguel ... [et al.]. Maestros antiguos y modernos en las colecciones del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2001. p. 50.
  • Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. pp. 59-61.
  • Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 59-61.
  • Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 59-61.
  • El mundo de los Madrazo : colección de la Comunidad de Madrid [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Consejería de Cultura y Deportes, 2007. p. 104.
  • Le grand atelier : chemins de l'art en Europe, Ve-XVIIIe siècle [Cat. exp.]. Bruxelles, Europalia Internacional ; Fonds Mercator, 2007. pp. 232, 234, 321, n° cat. XIII.19.
  • Delenda, Odile. Francisco de Zurbarán, 1598-1664. Madrid, Fundación Arte Hispánico, 2009. pp. 766-768, n° cat. 286.
  • Reguera, Galder. "Centenario del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao", Arketypo : revista de arte, arquitectura y diseño vasco, n° 13. 2009. p. 145.
  • Bustreo, Federica. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bilbao : maîtres anciens et première moitié du XX siècle. Florencia, Scala Group, 2011. pp. 54-55.
  • Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2011. pp. 59-61, n° cat. 41c.
  • Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa : gida. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2012. pp. 59-61, n° cat. 41c.
  • Delenda, Odile ; Ros, Almudena. "La visión de san Juan Bautista y el paisaje en la obra de Zurbarán", Ars Magazine, n° 16. 2012. p. 103..
  • Zurbarán : 1598 - 1664 [Cat. exp.]. Ferrara, Fondazione Ferrara Arte e gallerie d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Ferrara, 2013. pp. 218-219, n° cat. 49
  • Francisco de Zurbarán, 1598-1664 [Cat. exp.]. Bruxelles, Palais des Beaux-Arts ; Fonds Mercator , 2014. pp. 188-189, n° cat. 48.
  • Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. pp. 59-61.
  • Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. pp. 59-61.
  • Zurbarán [Cat. exp.]. Düsseldorf, Museum Kunstpalast, 2015. pp. 228-229, n° cat. 79.
  • Maestros : Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao . Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 52-53, il.
  • Maisuak : Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 52-53, il.
  • Masters : Bilbao Fine Arts Museum. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 52-53, il.
  • Maîtres : Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bilbao. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 52-53, il.
  • Chambaz, Bernard. Le dernier tableau : de Simone Martini à Zao Wou-ki. Paris, Seuil, 2017. pp. 152-153, il.
  • 110 Años 110 Obras [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 106-109, sin n° cat.
  • Bilboko Museoaren alfabetoa = El alfabeto del Museo de Bilbao = The alphabet of the Bilbao Museum = L'alphabet du Musée de Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 189-190, 193-194,197, n° cat. 107.
  • Hall-van den Elsen, Catherine. Fuerza e intimismo : Luisa Roldán, escultora (1652-1706). Madrid, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2018. p. 154, il.
  • 110 Urte 110 Artelan [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 106-109, sin n° cat.
  • 110 Years 110 Works [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 106-109, sin n° cat.
  • 110 Ans 110 Oeuvres [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 106-109, sin n° cat.
  • Atzera begirakoa : Giorgio Morandi eta antzinako maisuak [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, FMGB Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa, 2019. pp. 111, 180, n° cat. 12.