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Saint Francis
Francisco de Zurbarán (Spanish, 1598–1664)
about 1640–45
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
207.0 x 106.7 cm (81 1/2 x 42 in.)
Credit Line
Herbert James Pratt Fund
Accession Number38.1617
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Zurbarán was renowned as a painter of large-scale religious images, greatly in demand for churches and monasteries throughout Spain and the New World. Zurbarán's colors are restrained and his compositions rigorously simple; this austerity, combined with precise detail and strong, theatrical lighting, gives his sacred figures an intense, almost mystical presence. This image may, in fact, represent a vision reportedly seen by Pope Nicholas V two hundred years after Saint Francis's death in 1226: the undecayed body of the saint standing in his burial crypt as though living.
Provenance1823, acquired in Madrid by William à Court (b. 1779 - d. 1860), 1st Baron Heytesbury, Heytesbury House, Wiltshire [see note 1]; by descent within the family to Margaret Anna (d. 1920), Lady Heytesbury; April 27, 1926, Lady Heytesbury estate sale, Hampton and Sons, Heytesbury, lot 1358, sold for £21. By 1927, with Arthur Newton (dealer; b. 1892 – d. 1978), New York; November 24, 1927, received from Newton by Kunsthandel AG Luzern, Lucerne (consignment nos. K-7658 and K-0002) [see note 2]; 1928, sent by Kunsthandel AG Luzern on commission to Reinhardt Galleries, New York and returned by John Ringling (b. 1866 – d. 1936), Sarasota, FL to Kunsthandlung Julius Böhler, Munich (consignment no. 141.28) [see note 3]; October 18, 1932, consigned by Kunsthandel AG Luzern to Böhler (consignment no. 141.32) [see note 4]; September 28, 1938, transferred from Böhler to Kunsthandel AG Luzern; 1938, sold by Kunsthandel AG Luzern to the MFA for $3502.50. (Accession Date: November 10, 1938)
NOTES:
[1] See Martin S. Soria, The Paintings of Zurbarán: Complete Edition (London: Phaidon, 1953), p. 179, cat. no. 184. William à Court was ambassador to Spain from 1822 to 1824.
[2] Julius Böhler Archive online (Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte), Karteikarte nos. K_7658 and K_0002.
[3] Julius Böhler Archive online (as above, note 2), Karteikarte no. 141_28. Whether Ringling was the owner, co-owner, or just took custody of the painting is not known. He did business with Arthur Newton in New York, who initially shipped the work to Lucerne, and he worked particularly closely with Böhler, founder of Böhler and Steinmeyer (later the Kunsthandel AG Luzern). buying and selling frequently through his gallery. On their relationship, see Virginia Brilliant, Italian, Spanish, and French Paintings in the Ringling Museum of Art (New York, 2017), pp. xi-xxi.
[4] Julius Böhler Archive online (as above, note 2), Karteikarte 141_32. The painting appears to have remained with Böhler from 1928 until 1938. During that time, it was sent out for exhibition at Tomás Harris, Ltd., London (“Old Masters by Spanish Artists,” June 1931) and the Kunstverein, Hamburg (“Alte und neue spanisch Kunst,” August-September 1935), and was sent on commission to dealer Jacob Heimann, Munich (January – February, 1933). Precisely what Böhler’s interest in the painting was at this time is unclear.
NOTES:
[1] See Martin S. Soria, The Paintings of Zurbarán: Complete Edition (London: Phaidon, 1953), p. 179, cat. no. 184. William à Court was ambassador to Spain from 1822 to 1824.
[2] Julius Böhler Archive online (Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte), Karteikarte nos. K_7658 and K_0002.
[3] Julius Böhler Archive online (as above, note 2), Karteikarte no. 141_28. Whether Ringling was the owner, co-owner, or just took custody of the painting is not known. He did business with Arthur Newton in New York, who initially shipped the work to Lucerne, and he worked particularly closely with Böhler, founder of Böhler and Steinmeyer (later the Kunsthandel AG Luzern). buying and selling frequently through his gallery. On their relationship, see Virginia Brilliant, Italian, Spanish, and French Paintings in the Ringling Museum of Art (New York, 2017), pp. xi-xxi.
[4] Julius Böhler Archive online (as above, note 2), Karteikarte 141_32. The painting appears to have remained with Böhler from 1928 until 1938. During that time, it was sent out for exhibition at Tomás Harris, Ltd., London (“Old Masters by Spanish Artists,” June 1931) and the Kunstverein, Hamburg (“Alte und neue spanisch Kunst,” August-September 1935), and was sent on commission to dealer Jacob Heimann, Munich (January – February, 1933). Precisely what Böhler’s interest in the painting was at this time is unclear.