Surface and Depth: Zurbarán’s Saint Francis in Meditation

Abstract

Abstract Zurbarán’s iconic painting Saint Francis in Meditation is subtle in its complexity. Once the star work of King Louis-Philippe’s Galerie Espagnole (1838–48), where it captured the attention of art critics, painters, and poets, the painting was acquired by the National Gallery, London, in 1853. This essay seeks to sharpen our understanding of Zurbarán’s artistic construction of the work through an exploration of its various ambiguities. It argues that the tensions between surface and depth, so prominent in the painting, operate both visually and metaphorically. Adopting the practice of “slow looking”—a sustained and engaged visual analysis to produce a nuanced interpretation—this essay illuminates how the painting shapes its own reading as a commentary on the problem of sight.