An analysis of Zurbaran’s painting The Virgin of Mercy of Las Cuevas; what does the image mean? Is the depiction of the virgin an occurring theme throughout Spanish painting, and do Zurbaran’s artistic methods contribute towards the portrayal of the subject matter and overall success of the painting?

Francisco de Zurbaran is well known as one of the leading religious painters in Seville during the 1630s. His works often include symbolic meanings suggesting biblical subjects. His still life paintings are known for suggesting the prescience of the Virgin Mary, usually represented by a cup of water to symbolise purity etc.  So it is interesting to see a Zurbaran work, which actually depicts the virgin itself. After attending the National Gallery and seeing the exhibition “the sacred brought to life”, I wanted to gain a more detailed understanding of Spanish art of the time and Zurbaran in particular.  In order to do this I will be looking at how Zurbaran has executed the painting, what makes it work and stand out as an important religious painting. To compliment this I will decide whether the paintings religious subject matter; the virgin of mercy, is as common in 17^th century Spanish painting as was in other countries.

After seeing the exhibition I have chosen to analyse Zurbaran’s painting, the virgin of mercy of Las Cuevas. I think his aim was to plainly depict the virgin of mercy, which usually is a depiction of the Madonna sheltering faithful believers under her robe.  This image has been painted many times before by other artists, but with slightly varying aspects such as obviously style and slightly different depictions of the virgin robe. The effect which I think was sought is a simple composition which then leaves him to focus on putting more detail into certain areas. It is simply a celebration of the Madonna, and this is being achieved through numerous elements, which I will now explain.  When we look at the painting there aren’t that many complex colours used, therefore it is quite easy to differentiate between the varying colours. I think the colours have been placed and worked into the painting well, and most certainly compliment the composition.  The muted brown/gold shades of the cloud background provide a sort of backdrop for which the Madonna can come alive as it were. The bold colours of the Madonna up against the blackness of the inside of her cloak make this work, along with the monks white robes also. There is slight colour coordination with regards to the virgins dress and the similar tones used on the angels faces, this applies to the angels who are holding the robe and the angel’s faces in the background also. The arrangements of colours do compliment the subject matter greatly. We can see the traditional blue robe of the Madonna. We can see white and pink roses which are symbolic of purity, as is the monk’s robes. This is also symbolised by the white dove above the Madonna’s crown. This symbolises the soul and the Holy Spirit and signifies peace gentleness and purity. The light source in the painting is seemingly the sky, shining down on the Madonna, which gives us the impression that she is the most important person in the painting, this is also emphasised by the size of the Madonna in comparison to the monks. The whole painting is fairly light in comparison to other Zurbaran works.  The bold contrast of the monks robes and the blackness of the inside of the sheltering robe dramatises the whole piece and in the process the figures become more predominant.

The painting is very large and with a loose eye we can see that the high stature of the Madonna and the low stature of the monks create an archaic, slightly gothic like composition. This also ties in with the piece being very symmetrical. There are seven monks on each side, two angels, and the flowers are also arranged in the foreground very carefully.  If the painting was split in half there would be a fair symmetrical resemblance. The whole piece is centred on the Madonna, because she is encasing the monks, this stretches even further (her influence in the painting). The piece has very little foreground, but the space is well used considering. It is very well thought out composition which has a sense of equality about it and balance.  The overall condition of the piece is quite good, there are long smooth brushstrokes and finer brush work on detailed areas. There is much rougher brush work in the background and sky of the painting, but again this is well contrasted with the more panular sections of the painting.

Zurbaran makes the piece effective by focusing on the supernatural background, the Holy Spirit shining down upon the virgin. Even though it may seem a visually dramatic piece, it somehow has a solemn feel about it. The Madonna reiterates this. It is a good depiction of the virgin of mercy in a Zurbaran style.

Now I will determine where the painting lies in Zurbaran’s career and whether this type of image was popular at the time in Spanish art. Zurbaran has been compared in the past to a “Spanish Caravaggio” of course implying that his use of chiaroscuro is the same. This is Zurbaran’s usual type of painting and throughout his career; he opted to paint in this dark earthly style but exceptions were made.  The virgin of mercy, I would say, is a very typically styled piece for Zurbaran. He was an expert at painting draperies and we can see in the virgin if mercy, he incorporates drapery throughout the painting and does stand out as one of the most predominant features. Drapery dominated Zurbaran’s paintings, and in comparison to another of his paintings San Hugo en el Refectorio, oil on canvas, which depicts the monks also, we can see that this is what he loved to paint. The subject matter of these types of paintings is also relevant to his career at the time.  After 1628, Zurbaran’s status of a chief portrait painter was to become more prestigious. He started to work on paintings which were to be sent to monasteries and in the Spanish colony of Guadalupe.  At this time Zurbaran devoted himself to painting religious subjects. The virgin of mercy dates 1644-55, the time when Zurbaran’s popularity was declining. His works were not emotively powerful anymore, and the technique, I admit was still good, but not what people had seen him produce in his earlier days. So it is interesting to view this piece knowing that his harsher brush strokes, loss of simplicity, were simply not the best works that he might have produced earlier in his career and that other artists were producing works of art that were to the standards of a new elite painter of Seville, namely Murrilo.

The virgin of mercy is an interesting piece to analyse because of the dating of the piece. It was a time of decline for Zurbaran and was painted only 9 years before his death. It seems that the painting incorporates all aspects of Zurbaran’s painting career.  His paintings were known for having one central focus point, usually a person in his portrait pieces and obviously still life’s. The composition is not constricted to one figure, but the way in which it is arranged our attention is focused on the virgin.  The virgin of mercy is a very direct intimate piece which does incorporate portraiture, still life and even the chiaroscuro effect on the virgins robe in contrast with the monks.  His still life skills are evident in the foreground with the carefully arranged flowers. With all this considered I think it is a pivotal painting of Zurbaran’s career, where he is showing all of his skill in the form of a religious themed piece, the main subject he painted towards his decline.

17^th century painting is one of many great eras throughout the history of art.  We can see that there may have been some Italian influence on styles that emerged, but the Spanish “Golden Age” was truly a unique era which was truly stylistic of its country and its situations of that time. The Golden ages religious paintings did occupy a large percentage of the paintings produced, but in my opinion they were only really becoming “popular” halfway or towards the end of the century, other artists such as El Greco and Velazquez has already painted religious subjects, but with Velazquez’s slight influence , Zurbaran  began using religion as his predominant theme. There is one painting by El Greco in particular which reminds me (compositionally and colour wise), of Zurbaran’s virgin of mercy, and that is a painting called the disrobing of Christ, 1577–1579, oil on canvas. When comparing the two, we can see that there is a striking resemblance in composition, scaling and colour.  El Greco’s piece is an altarpiece.  Jesus is in a similar pose to the virgin, the robes are similar in colour, the backgrounds are both formed with faces receding backwards, just like the angels in Zurbaran’s piece. 

In conclusion,  after covering different aspects in regards to the importance of the painting, its significance in Spanish 17^th century art, and in relation to the success of the piece, I have learnt that religious subjects was one the most dominant themes to paint in 17^th century Spain. But not totally as still life and domestic scenes as well as portraiture all contribute to the golden age of painting in the 17^th century.  The depiction of the virgin of mercy is not that concurrent throughout the 17^th century Spanish art timeline, but on the other hand the virgin herself is a very popular theme to be depicted. Throughout Zurbaran’s career, he managed to paint several depictions of the virgin, from the birth of the virgin, then a child, progressing to the Immaculate Conception.  Religious paintings were important to Zurbaran and no doubt his career. He even depicted himself as Saint Luke in a self portrait 1635–1640. So we can see that the subject matter was widely popular of Zurbaran’s time and in the golden age, we can then assume that the images meaning is thus important, and that the execution of how the images was to be portrayed visually, was important. The image is successful in general terms. It is bold, expressive and holds a single powerful message to its viewer. It is ultimately a message of peace, divinity and spirituality.

Bibliography:

Xavier Bray, The Sacred Made Real: Spanish Painting and Sculpture, 1600-1700. The National Gallery, London (30 Oct 2009).