The style of artists like Zurbarán seconded, in the field of the arts, the spirit of the Counter Reformation and the Council of Trent.
Newsdesk (January 02, 2022 10:35 AM, Gaudium Press) At the end of the Middle Ages, Western civilization witnessed one of the greatest revolutions in thought and culture that has ever existed: the humanist movement.
Any lucid mind can see that humanism was the root of enormous progress in art, despite serious exaggerations. It would be enough to mention the propagation of truly incredible monuments, stone spectacles, both for their grandiose apparatus and for their barely disguised paganism, or even the publication and dissemination of prayer books with mythological illustrations and hymns…[1] The Tridentine Council (1545-1563) would put an end to these and many other controversial issues of those times.
Following the demands of the Church
Parallel to the canonical and doctrinal decisions that came from the Church, it was indispensable to undertake, in the arts, what the conciliar spirit vehemently demanded.
One of the figures who undertook this task – perhaps inadvertently – was Francisco de Zurbarán, a Spaniard born in 1598, who still had time to know what had been the invincible empire of his nation.
Unfortunately, we do not have enough data about this great genius of sacred art, but it is known that he entered the world of painting and art in Seville, where he made his first works.
Apparently, his brush did not differ much from that of Velasquez, a really famous Spanish painter. His motives, however, were profoundly different. In the words of a modern author, Zurbarán was the greatest exponent of the sacred art of his time, distinguished mainly by a great religious sense, which resulted in a genuine refinement of the Baroque and Christian spirituality.[2]
His work never ceases to surprise even today those versed in painting; using extremely vivid colors combined with dark and eloquent penumbras, he conferred perfection and piety to the most varied themes of religion, notably in hagiographic iconography, as can be seen in canvases such as The Virgin Girl [3] and Saint Marina [4], prodigies of expression and depth of spirit; in works such as Saint Bruno [5] or The Apotheosis of Saint Thomas Aquinas [6] a marked religious sense transpires, unusual to the modern mind and appreciation.
In fact, much of what neopagan art had introduced into ecclesiastical art was not at all sane, and artists, such as Zurbarán, fought such a current without exactly departing from the innovations of the time.
Mirror of an era
Certain authors draw attention to a singular fact: the sacred art of Hispanic America has its basis and inspiration in themes and styles of Francisco de Zurbarán, and Peruvian art is a genuine exemplar of such predicates.[7]
Lima – capital of the then Viceroyalty of Peru – “became the city of churches and convents. Since Zurbarán was the most prestigious painter in Sevilla, it was natural that he would receive orders for his works for different places in the Spanish Indies, especially for the capital of the Viceroyalty. The Zurbaran style quickly blended with the native creativity, the characteristics of the clothing of the time, and the figures used for the evangelization of the natives. The distinctive traces of his work were largely followed by a legion of epigones who strove to repeat his images, imprinting a true “form” to the pictorial style of the Ibero-American nation.”[8]
This true Catholic art, begun in the springs of pure Tridentine doctrine, carried on by celebrated painters, represents a great treasure for the Church, especially in times when principles evoked by such art fall into oblivion. In fact, this style characterizes not only an epoch, but a whole way of living and thinking very different from the contemporary one, which we cannot fail to remember.
By André Luiz Kleina
[1] For more on this, read “The Church of the Renaissance and the Reformation”, by Daniel Rops.
[2] Cf. PLAZAOLA, Juan. Historia del arte cristiano. Madrid: BAC, 1999, p. 235-6.
[3] Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
[Carmen Thyssen Museum, Malaga, Spain.
[5] Museum of Fine Arts, Seville, Spain.
[6] Fine Arts Museum, Seville, Spain.
[7] Works by Zurbarán are also found in other American countries, such as Argentina, Colombia and Mexico.
[8] Cf. CAVALCANTI, Alexandre de Hollanda. Peruvian Sacred Art. Pulchritudine Fulgens, vol. 1, jan.-jun. 2015, p. 44-7.
Compiled by Edsel Mascarenhas
