March 14, 2018
The Unprecedented Bible Portraits of Francisco de Zurbarán
By Menachem WeckerIn his paintings of Jacob and his twelve sons, the 17th-century Spanish master humanizes his subjects, rendering them approachable and individual rather than remote and ethereal.
With the sons of Jacob cowering before him, the fearsome viceroy of Egypt finally reveals himself as none other than their brother Joseph, whom they had long ago conspired against and sold into slavery. He thereby takes the final step toward fulfilling his youthful dream of seeing his family bow down to him—while simultaneously orchestrating a joyous family reunion. The story is told with incomparable artistry in chapters 42-44 of Genesis.
Now this fractious biblical family has been reunited again in an exhibit at New York’s Frick Collection, where a thirteen-canvas series of Jacob and each of his twelve sons, by the 17th-century Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán, is on display through April 22. Previously on view at the Meadows Museum in Dallas, the pictures hail from Auckland Castle in England, with the lone exception of the portrait of the youngest son Benjamin, whose home is at Grimsthorpe Castle.
The pictures, too, have a story behind them.