The Old Testament of Zurbaran in America

Abstract

Francisco Zurbarán is the Spanish painter who had the greatest impact in America throughout the s. XVII and until well into the XVIII, to the point of becoming the inspirer of a local artistic movement, the so called "zurbaranismo novohispano". But his access to the American market required a series of adaptations among which the revision of the theme of his canvases stands out. If in the production for the Sevillian clients it is rare to find themes of a biblical nature, even more so from the Old Testament, in the works destined for the New World the series of patriarchs inspired by the testament of Jacob from Gn 49 stand out. The interpretation of the biblical text was highly conditioned by the ecclesial context of Seville in which Zurbarán was educated and carried out his work; however, this "exegesis" was enriched by the socio-political context of the New World. And thus, Zurbarán's patriarch series transfer the biblical script to the canvas, offering a new biblical hermeneutic that is inspiring for biblical scholars and artists of our time.