Saint Benedict — Francisco De Zurbarán

Saint Benedict

A solemn depiction of Saint Benedict holding a wine jar by Spanish Baroque master Francisco de Zurbarán captures profound spiritual intensity, inviting you to explore this masterpiece of the Golden Age.


Francisco de Zurbarán (1598 - 1664)

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664): Spanish Baroque master of dramatic tenebrism & religious art. Explore paintings of monks, saints & still lifes – the 'Spanish Caravaggio'!

Metropolitan Museum of Art (new york, United States of America)

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This painting formed part of a series by Zurbarán representing the thirteen founders of monastic orders, known today from copies in the Capuchin convent at Castellón de la Plana. During the 1630s, his workshop produced at least two other copies to serve evangelizing missions in the Americas: one series went to Lima and another to Mexico City. Saint Benedict is depicted holding a wine jar—notably a contemporary Spanish example made in the neighborhood of Triana in Seville—in reference to a legend that a jar of poisoned wine was fractured when blessed by the saint, thus saving him. Benedict reappears praying in the rocky landscape background.