On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P03148
- Author
- Zurbarán, Francisco de (Spanish)
- Title
- Saint Eufemia
- Chronology
- Ca. 1637
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 83 cm x 73 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- LEGADO
- Procedence
- Legacy of the widow of Jiménez Díaz, 1969
Eufemia was martyred in the year
310 for refusing to worship the god
Ares or participate in pagan
ceremonies. As punishment, she was
subjected to numerous torments.
Zurbarán depicts her with a quiet
expression, with no other attribute
than the saw with which she was
martyred.
Probably for use in home worship,
this work belongs to a very
characteristic type of paintings by
Zurbarán. Young and delicate women
saints are portrayed with their
traditional attributes, standing
out over a dark background that
emphasizes the delicacy of their
features and gestures. In many
cases these were “portraits in the
divine manner,” in which the facial
features of the person who
commissioned the work were
represented in the personage of the
saint.
Location on the map
