# Saint Romanus of Antioch and Saint Barulas

**Francisco de Zurbarán** (Spanish, 1598–1664)  
1638  
Oil on canvas  
246.5 × 185.4 cm (97 1/16 × 73 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.793. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/61665).

## About this work

Francisco de Zurbarán created this painting for a church in Seville, Spain, dedicated to Saint Romanus of Antioch. Here, Romanus holds up his own tongue, torn out by his tormentors, and grasps a massive book inscribed with a prayer for the faithful. Painted to support the Counter-Reformation, the Catholic Church’s response to the Protestant movement, Zurbarán aimed to make the saints accessible to everyday people.

_Text from the Art Institute of Chicago._

Francisco de Zurbarán painted this in 1638, aged 40. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

A work made of oil on canvas.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Francisco de Zurbarán](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/francisco-de-zurbaran)

Spanish, 1598–1664; born in Fuente de Cantos; died in Madrid

Zurbarán worked chiefly in Seville, where religious orders commissioned him to paint cycles for their monasteries. His saints and monks, set against dark grounds and modelled with strong, sculptural light, combine austerity with close attention to the textures of cloth and wood. He also painted a handful of austere still lifes. As taste in Seville shifted towards Murillo’s softer style, he moved to Madrid in 1658, where he died.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Spain
- The artist was 40
- Real size: about 97 × 73 in (246 × 185 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 30 × 40 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 17th century
- Subjects: saints, clouds, sky, rocks, trees, landscape, martyrs, violence
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/180.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/180/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/saint-romanus-of-antioch-and-saint-barulas-aic-61665).