WHAT? Zurbarán

WHERE? The National Gallery, Sainsbury Wing Entrance, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN

WHEN? Now until 23rd August

WHY GO?
To feel emotion. For glorious ecclesiastical paintings, Zurbarán excels. He’s famed throughout Spain for saints and angels, emotionally charged images of the crucifixion and, perhaps more surprisingly, exquisite paintings of fruit in bowls that look tempting enough to eat straight from the canvas.

This exhibition inspires devotion even if you are an atheist. Zurbarán was a fervent Catholic and painted mainly for religious orders. His paintings of famous female saints such as Saint Casilda of Toledo are like 17th-century fashion plates as he captures their rich robes with flair and drama.

Not as widely recognised as contemporaries like Velázquez and Murillo, Zurbarán’s major works are equally powerful, namely compositions of the Virgin and Child and pious images of St Francis of Assisi.

His stark crucifixion paintings depicting a tortured Christ are more dramatic than any photograph could ever represent and, hung high up in the gallery, they inspire devotion.

One colossal portrait, just recently attributed to him, fills a gallery wall yet remains a mystery to the curators. Who was the man he painted and why was it such a large-scale image? This, along with everything in this glorious exhibition, just begs to be seen. If Zurbarán was not well known before, he certainly will be now!

IN THE KNOW
From religious fervour to fruits that tempt, Zurbarán inspired his son Juan and both father and son’s realistic still-life paintings of abundant fruits strewn across tabletops fill the final gallery. Poignant and apt to place them together, sadly Juan died at the age of just 29 during the great plague of Seville. This is a fitting emotional tribute.