Explore the exhibition Zurbarán. (Super)natural: a unique perspective on the master of the Spanish Baroque
This MNAC exhibition will show how Zurbarán’s work reaches into the contemporary world. It will also place his paintings in dialogue with works by contemporary artists who share a clear continuity with him, both in formal synthesis and in spiritual aspiration. Among these artists are Alfons Borrell, Toni Catany, Joan Hernández Pijuan, Josep Guinovart, Antoni Llena, Aurèlia Muñoz, Marta Povo and Antoni Tàpies. In addition, Antoni Llena and Eulàlia Valldosera have created new works specifically for this exhibition.
The MNAC is also collaborating with the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Lyon and the Museum of Fine Arts de Boston on this project, which will bring together for the first time the three versions of Saint Francis of Assisi according to Pope Nicholas V’s Vision, a key work by Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664).
Saint Francis of Assisi according to Pope Nicholas V’s Vision
In this painting, Zurbarán depicts a legendary episode: the moment when the Pope asks to see the mummified body of the saint in the crypt of the basilica in Assisi. The painter distils a complex narrative action and focuses on what is essential: the Pope’s subjective vision. Saint Francis appears like a figure displayed in a museum, surrounded by light, space and a precise geometric composition. Through the contemplation of the real, Zurbarán leads us towards an inner dimension, towards the soul.
In addition, the exhibition Zurbarán Barcelona brings together other outstanding works, including the twin – and subtly different – versions of his celebrated Still Life with Vessels, one on loan from the Museo del Prado and the other belonging to the MNAC. In these paintings, Zurbarán creates an aesthetic of emptiness, silence and presence. The boundary between everyday life and religious mystery becomes blurred.
