Francisco de Zurbarán: Agnus dei (1635-40)

(Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain)

A painting by the Spanish artist Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664). A simple painting of a 8 to 12 months old merino lamb which has its feet bound together in a sacrificial posture. The image of a lamb is closely associated with Christ as described in the New Testament:

The next day John (the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
(John 1:29)

As a result Christ also has the title "the lamb of God" or in Latin "Agnus Dei" - the reason of this association is that just as a lamb was used a sacrifice, Christ choose to suffer his crucifixion as a sign of his full obedience to the will of God the Father. This painting was very popular and Francisco made various copies for several private clients. This version was property of the family of the Marquis of el Socorro and comes from 1635-1640.