On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P02594
- Author
- Zurbarán, Francisco de (Spanish)
- Title
- Saint Luke as a painter, before Christ on the Cross
- Chronology
- 1630-1639
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 105 cm x 84 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- No
- Entrance
- COMPRA
- Procedence
- Acquisition, 1936
A painter devoutly contemplates the
almost-sculptural figure of Christ
on the Cross, which stands out
against the dark background. It is
Saint Luke, who was not only an
evangelist, but also a doctor and
artist. This biblical reference may
actually hide a more general
allusion to the value of painting
as the art that is most useful as
an instrument of religious
devotion. It has also been pointed
out that this may be a
self-portrait —more allegorical
than literal— by Zurbarán.
Christ appears nailed to the Cross
with four nails, a formula first
presented by Dürer that became very
common among painters working in
Seville during the seventeenth
century, such as Pacheco, Velasquez
and Alonso Cano.
This work belonged to the Infante
Sebastián Gabriel (1811-1875), and
later to his son, Alfonso de
Bourbon y Braganza. It was acquired
by the Prado Museum in 1936 with
funds from the Legacy of the Count
of Cartagena.
