Telefonica
Reference number
P01239
Author
Zurbarán, Francisco de (Spanish)
Title
Saint Elisabeth of Portugal
Chronology
Ca. 1635
Technique
Support
Measures
184 cm x 98 cm
School
Theme
Shown
Yes
Entrance
COLECCION REAL
Procedence
Royal collection

The saint is shown full length, walking toward the right and wearing a seventeenth-century lady's clothing. The roses she carries over her skirt allude to the miracle in which coins from the Royal Treasury, which she secretly handed out to the needy, turned into roses. A similar story is told about Saint Casilda, with whom this painting has also been identified.

This is one of Zurbarán's most elegant portraits, and her rich garments offer him a magnificent opportunity to demonstrate his extraordinary capacity to depict textures. It reveals the technical mastery he acquired in a highly recurrent prototype present in his work: the representation of figures that stand out over a dark background and look directly at the viewer. Sometimes these are “portraits in a divine manner,” that is, portraits of living people depicted with the attributes of the saints they were named after. Here it is Queen Isabel of Portugal.

The origin of this painting is unknown. It was first documented in 1814 at Madrid's Royal Palace.

Ministerio de Cultura. Goberno de España; abre en ventana nueva
Copyright © 2010 Museo Nacional del Prado.
Calle Ruiz de Alarcón 23
Madrid 28014
Tel. +34 91 330 2800.
Todos los derechos reservados