Zurbarán and Murillo: Observations on 17th-century Spanish Painting from the Conservation Studio
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Four Figures on a Step, c. 1655–60. Oil on canvas. 43 ¼ x 56 ½ in. (109.9 x 143.5 cm). Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, AP 1984.18.
Claire Barry
Director of Conservation Emerita, Kimbell Art Museum
During the 1620s and 1630s, Seville’s many religious foundations kept Francisco de Zurbarán and his large workshop busy with commissions. After about 1640, however, Zurbarán's sober and restrained style lost favor to the softer look and more emotional appeal of younger artists, and he began to actively produce paintings for export to the New World.
Bartolomé Murillo succeeded Zurbarán as Seville's leading artist. He animated his engaging subjects with an uncanny narrative skill. Aspects of Murillo’s studio practice, materials and artistic intentions, revealed through close examination of the artist’s genre paintings in the conservation studio will be discussed.
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