Francisco de Zurbarán. Still Life with Citrons, Oranges and a Rose

Arranged on a table in front of a dark background are a metal plate with some citrons on it, a basket of oranges with their leaves and blossom, and another metal plate with a cup and a rose. Dated 1633, this is the only signed still life by Zurbarán and one of the masterpieces of the genre in Europe. Some of its motifs, such as the rose, appear in other works by the artist, who regularly included still-life elements in his religious compositions. Nonetheless, very few independent still lifes by his hand are known.

The fame acquired by the painting since it was first published in the 1920s is a reflection of the masterly use of scale, the extraordinary descriptive precision and the compositional values. Occupying much of the pictorial surface, the objects are located on slightly differentiated planes, while a very selective, lateral light source draws them out of the shadows and helps to define their volumes precisely and convey their textures. The rigorous order which prevails, the strikingly individualised presence of all the objects, the use of such a focused light and the darkness of the background together produce a work that is simultaneously silent, delicate and solemn, explaining why over the decades almost all experts have suggested that the painting may contain a religious significance.