Saint Romanus of Antioch and Saint Barulas
Francisco de Zurbarán (Spanish, 1598–1664)
1638
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- 246.5 × 185.4 cm (97 1/16 × 73 in.)
- Culture
- Spain
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Painting and Sculpture of Europe
- Credit line
- Gift of Mrs. Chauncey McCormick and Mrs. Richard E. Danielson
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Adult profiles and older: its museum's description or title mentions violence, death or gore. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Francisco de Zurbarán excelled at painting altarpieces that presented saints in an accessible manner. Catholic reformers, who aimed to revitalize Catholicism in the face of the Protestant Reformation, emphasized that religious painting should feature easily recognizable figures and narratives in order to reach contemporary audiences.
This canvas, made for the high altar of the church of San Román in Seville, Spain, aligns with the church’s dedication to Saint Romanus of Antioch. Romanus towers over Saint Barulas, a seven-year-old child who was inspired to martyrdom by the elder saint’s words. Romanus holds up his own tongue, torn out by his tormentors, and grasps a massive book inscribed with a prayer invoking his intercession on behalf of the faithful.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
