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The most popular compositions in Francisco de Zurbarán’s paintings are the figures of saints depicted alone, holding their emblematic objects in their hands, looking out into the space beyond the frame. He presents this theme in a unique way. Evidence that the artist sent groups of images of female martyr saints to South America reflects the popularity of these works. In 1647 the artist painted 24 Virgin Saints for the Convent of Nuestra (in Ciudad Los Reyes, Peru), and in 1649 he sent another 15 to Buenos Aires.
St. Casilda has been identified in some publications as St. Elizabeth of Hungary because the traditional emblem of both saints is the rose. But she did not have the tiara commonly seen in Elizabeth’s portraits, so Jonathan Brown identified the saint as Casilda with a gold pearl headband.
Casilda, the daughter of an Arab king, died in 1087. She renounced Islam, converted to Christianity, and surreptitiously delivered food to Christian prisoners her father held. During an adventurous visit, she was startled by her father’s surprise attack, but a miracle happened, and the food hidden on her body turned into roses, the traditional symbol of the saint.
She wears gorgeous jewelry and an expensive embroidered gown that accentuates her monumental figure in strong lighting and accentuates the strong colors of her clothes against a clean gradient backdrop. Subalang places particular emphasis on the texture of her clothes, gold embroidery and jewelry. The apparent personalization of some of the martyrs contributed to the concept of “representation of the gods”, which advocated the depiction of saints as portraits of real women with divine attributes.
Thanks to the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza for presenting the jewel of Spanish Baroque art today.
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Side note: Did you know that Francisco de Zubaran is known as the “Caravaggio of Spain”? Learn more about this fascinating painter.
171 x 107 cm
Baroque
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
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