Francisco de Zurbarán

When asked about El Greco in 1924, Picasso replied: ‘I used to like [him] very much, but now I prefer Zurbarán, that very great painter who is so intensely Spanish and so little known in France’. This book stems from a desire to offer readers a comprehensive view of Zurbarán’s life and work and what it has meant over the last four centuries. After summarising the main events of his life and his greatest artistic achievements, it focuses on cross-cutting themes which run through the painter’s entire career and help us understand the forces that drove his creativity and his place on the Spanish and European art scene of his day.

When asked about El Greco in 1924, Picasso replied: ‘I used to like [him] very much, but now I prefer Zurbarán, that very great painter who is so intensely Spanish and so little known in France’. This book stems from a desire to offer readers a comprehensive view of Zurbarán’s life and work and what it has meant over the last four centuries. After summarising the main events of his life and his greatest artistic achievements, it focuses on cross-cutting themes which run through the painter’s entire career and help us understand the forces that drove his creativity and his place on the Spanish and European art scene of his day.