Christ and the Virgin in the House at Nazareth
Christ and the Virgin in the House at Nazareth, Francisco de Zurbarán (Spanish, 1598 - 1664) c. 1640
1960.117
Gallery 3 | European Art: Captured Emotions, 1600–1700
Stories of Christ’s childhood and adolescence became increasingly popular during the Counter-Reformation because they were easily understood by a broad public. Rather than taking a story from the Bible, Zurbarán appears to have invented this subject, in which Jesus pricks himself on a crown of thorns he is weaving, foretelling his later torment at the Crucifixion. Despite the grand scale and monumental figures, the work has remarkable intimacy and quietness, emphasizing such details as the Virgin’s tears.
Images Copyright © the artist, their estate, and/or the Cleveland Museum of Art.
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