Artwork
The Prayer of St. Bonaventura about the Selection of the New Pope
The Prayer of St. Bonaventura about the Selection of the New Pope is an oil painting by the Baroque artist Francisco de Zurbarán. It dates from 1628 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister.
About this work
Overview
Francisco de Zurbarán’s oil on canvas, painted in 1628, portrays a devotional scene titled The Prayer of St. Bonaventure concerning the Selection of the New Pope. The work is part of the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden and measures roughly the size typical of Zurbarán’s religious commissions of the early Baroque period.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a kneeling figure in a brown habit, identified as the 13th‑century Franciscan theologian St. Bonaventure, whose hands are lifted in earnest prayer. Above him hovers an angelic being offering a luminous object, while a group of cardinals in scarlet vestments observe from a nearby architectural setting, alluding to the papal election of 1268‑71.
Technique & Style
Zurbarán employs a stark chiaroscuro, contrasting the dark, muted background with the illuminated skin of the angel and the warm reds of the cardinals’ robes. The metallic sheen of the container on the table catches reflected light, enhancing the three‑dimensionality of the objects and emphasizing the spiritual drama through controlled illumination.
History & Provenance
Completed in 1628, the painting entered the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister’s holdings during the 19th‑century reorganization of Dresden’s royal collections. Its provenance prior to that period is not extensively documented, but the work has been catalogued as a representative example of Zurbarán’s later religious output.
Context
The work reflects Counter‑Reformation concerns with papal authority, linking a historic papal election to contemporary devotional practice. By invoking St. Bonaventure, a revered Franciscan scholar, Zurbarán underscores the theological legitimacy of papal succession, a theme resonant in Spain’s Catholic milieu of the early 1600s.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Francisco de Zurbarán was a Spanish Baroque painter. He is known primarily for his religious paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs, and for his still-lifes. Zurbarán gained the nickname "Spanish Caravaggio",…
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