Francisco de Zurbarán: The virgin of las Cuevas (1655)

(Museum of Fine Arts, Seville, Spain)

A painting by the Spanish artist Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664). This piece is part of a set which was commissioned for the Carthusian monastery of Santa María de las Cuevas in Seville. In each painting of this set Zurbarán shows the spiritual principles of the Carthusians: silence, devotion to the Virgin Mary, and mortification through fasting. This piece shows several Carthusians kneeling before Mary. Mary herself is touching the heads of two Carthusians (perhaps Dominique Hélion and Jean de Rhodes for their role in spreading the use of the Holy Rosary - further symbolized by the roses in the foreground). Painting from 1655.