Francisco de Zurbaran - Artist Info

About Francisco de Zurbaran

Name variants

Francisco de Zurbarán, Francisco Zurbaran
  • Biography

    Francisco de Zurbaran (November 7, 1598 - August 27, 1664) was a Spanish painter. He is known primarily for his religious paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs, and for his still-lifes. Zurbaran gained the nickname Spanish Caravaggio, owing to the forceful, realistic use of chiaroscuro* in which he excelled.

    He was born at Fuente de Cantos in Extremadura, the son of Luis Zurbarán, a haberdasher, and his wife, Isabel Márquez. In childhood he set about copying objects with charcoal. In 1614 his father sent him to Seville to apprentice for three years with Pedro Díaz de Villanueva, an artist of whom very little is known.

    It is unknown whether Zurbarán had the opportunity to copy the paintings o...

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