Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664) is one of the most representative masters of the Spanish Golden Age. The fundamental principles of his art are rooted in baroque naturalism: precisely painting what the eye can see, but with the intention of going beyond tangible reality to discover a profound, spiritual dimension of life in keeping with the religious discourse of the period. Thanks to a collaboration between the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, this exhibit has been able to bring together, in an absolutely exceptional manner, Zurbarán’s three versions of Saint Francis of Assisi According to Pope Nicholas V’s Vision. This iconographic subject reveals the inventiveness of the Extremaduran artist, who used painting as a means of transcendental revelation. His austerity and formal rigour are echoed in the work of many modern Catalan artists, who have paid him homage or pursued parallel explorations. Here, Antoni Tàpies, Aurèlia Muñoz, Josep Guinovart, Joan Hernández Pijuan, Alfons Borrell, Toni Catany and Marta Povo show us how an aesthetic experience of meditation can be accessed through matter, light and geometry. Antoni Llena (a former Franciscan monk) and Eulàlia Valldosera have completed two installations specifically for the occasion. Bringing Zurbarán and these artists together enriches our interpretations and shows us that humanity’s greatest concerns persist through the ages.

Saint Francis of Assisi According to Pope Nicholas V’s Vision is a representation inspired by a legendary event that was first reported in 1557. Illuminated only by the light of a torch, the Pope and his entourage descended into the dark crypt of Assisi to see the saint and were astonished to discover his mummified body. Most painters describe this scene narratively, but Zurbarán simplified a complex story into a painting that strikes the viewer, who is placed in the position of the Holy Father and shares a subjective experience that borders on a miracle: the discovery of a corpse that looks alive. This is art at its most powerful, when an image takes us beyond apparent reality.

Like Zurbarán, some modern artists use abstract synthesis to transcend mundane images and lead us towards intimate reflection. For example, Antoni Tàpies monumentalizes folds to evoke a space that is both material and mental. Alfons Borrell, in contrast, builds an essential emptiness full of vibrations and wounds

Zurbarán was essentially a painter of religious themes and one of the main interpreters of Catholic thought during the Counter-Reformation (the theological renewal of the Church after the Council of Trent). His art sought to connect with the divine using the senses, interpreting the supernatural from a human perspective, and was most likely influenced by texts by authors like Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint John of the Cross or Saint Philip Neri. Zurbarán often represented this with individual, isolated figures who intensely experience their spiritual fervour.

Mysticism has many facets. Antoni Llena obsessively draws using Zurbarán-esque iconography of holiness and religion, discovering its dimensions of fragility, esoterism and –perhaps– even eroticism. Through matter, Josep Guinovart evokes the duality between light and darkness. Marta Povo uses photography to capture a manifestation of light that is revelatory, mystical, and almost miraculous.

Zurbarán is also regarded as one of the 17th century’s masters of still life. One of the most notable features of his few surviving works is the meticulous, orderly calculation of his compositions. The painter arranges disparate elements with an almost geometric precision and shapes their volumes using light, which causes objects to emerge from the darkness with great sobriety and forcefulness. The whole leads to a profound sense of stillness and silence, a sensation that can drive the viewer to reflect on the passage of time. In analysing the still life genre, Hernández Pijuan organizes distance and light to show the shared, fundamental structure of objects and painting. Toni Catany replicates a Zurbarán-esque order and adds the factor of time using the strange beauty of decay.

Zurbarán and the city of Seville played an exceptional role in promoting the cult of the Immaculate Conception. Marian apparitions are manifestations of the Virgin Mary to individuals in a specific context. Often, the Virgin’s body is suspended or floating in the air, an extraordinary phenomenon that can be described as “levitation”. Mary almost always receives divine assistance, whether in the form of clouds (golden or white), cherubs (depicted either as full-bodied or as winged heads), or the half-moon of the Immaculate Conception (a symbol of chastity). This series of scenic elements creates an imaginary geography located between heaven and earth.

Demystification and spiritual rehabilitation can coexist. Eulàlia Valldosera casts light on a series of modest utensils, both traditional and modern. From the shadow of a cleaning container emerges the outline of the Virgin; a chalice is revealed using a bottle of Colón detergent. This Marian presence in the humblest of circumstances denounces established order while also defining a specifically feminine energy. Finally, Aurèlia Muñoz grants an ethereal quality to a knotted textile that unites different pieces, giving this entity a social, collective dimension.