The Young Virginca. 1632–33
The Virgin Mary, imagined as a young girl in the Temple, pauses from her needlework, lost in prayer, with her sewing at her side and lilies, a symbol of purity, nearby. More about this work
About this work
The Virgin Mary, imagined as a young girl in the Temple, pauses from her needlework, lost in prayer, with her sewing at her side and lilies, a symbol of purity, nearby. Zurbarán and his contemporaries in Seville painted the subject for private devotion, drawing on legends of Mary’s childhood rather than the Gospels. The intimate, still mood and the crisp, tactile rendering of fabric and flowers are typical of the painter, who brought the quiet of monastic life to everything he touched.
Written by Ochre Editions.
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
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.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 27.137
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Paintings
- Department
- European Paintings
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
