OBRADOR DE ZURBARÁN

(S. XVII)

WORKSHOP OF ZURBARÁN (17th C.) "Supper at Emmaus"

Oil on canvas Provenance: Paris, Soult sale, 19-22 May 1852, no. 41 (?); Spain, Villas Villareal collection; bought in 1944 by Francisco Vega Díaz; Madrid, Vega Díaz collection. Bibliography: DELENDA, O., Zurbarán. Reasoned and critical catalogue. Volume I, Madrid, Wildenstein Institute and Foundation to Support the History of Hispanic Art, 2009-2010, p. 461, fig. 3. The important workshop of Zurbarán had the obligation to satisfy the demands imposed by the 17th-century Sevillian clientele. The painter received a high number of commissions, so he was forced to have a well-organized workshop in which he needed the help of several assistants. The works that came out of his workshop had to meet a hallmark of quality and many of them, as is the case of the Supper at Emmaus presented here, were directly supervised by the master. This imposing canvas brings together all the ingredients of Zurbaranesque art, showing the religious scene with an everyday tone and a real air, but also very spiritual, in an atmosphere of magical silence in which the humanity of the figures represented is highlighted. Its imposing figures stand out by means of a powerful illumination against a darker background, creating a great contrast. Likewise, his characteristic chromatic palette, perfectly harmonized, is appreciated, with the brilliant reds and ochres of the apostles' tunics and the luminous white of the tablecloth standing out. On this space, he shows his skill in the observation and reproduction of nature, perfectly capturing the tactile values ​​of the objects that make up the still life on the table. As Odile Delenda indicated in the catalog raisonné of Zurbarán, this painting is a good workshop replica, made under the direct supervision of the master. She pointed out the existence of other examples, highlighting this one as the best known version of the original painted in 1639 and preserved in the Museo Nacional de San Carlos in Mexico (Inv. No. XI-10-115-509), from the conventual church of the monastery of San Agustín. Measurements: 113 x 170 cm.