The Sevillian collection of the images of Mercedarians by Zurbarán

Abstract

The portraits of Mercedarian monks by Francisco de Zurbarán were created for the Sevillian monastery Nuestra Señora de la Merced. The artist sketched images of old-time monks based on the physiognomy of his contemporary models. The surviving paintings characterize in a simplicity of composition. Each canvas shows an image of a monk clothed in a white frock. All the presented members of the order, with the exception of Saint Serapion, are pictured with a tome, which emphasizes the intellectual skills of the selected monk. The images of the Mercedarians, which decorated the walls of monastery rooms, were the reference point, as well as a model, of the monastic life for the generations of men who were taking the veil. Francisco de Zurbarán, with the use of two colours: a dark, almost black, background and a shining white, pictured the spiritual dimension of the images, which sublimated the idea of the monastic life.