# The Young Virgin

**Francisco de Zurbarán** (Spanish, 1598–1664)  
ca. 1632–33  
Oil on canvas  
46 x 37 in. (116.8 x 94 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 27.137. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437971).

## 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._

Francisco de Zurbarán painted this in about 1632–33, aged about 34. It is now at The Met in New York.

### 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: Paintings
- The artist was about 34
- Real size: about 46 × 37 in (117 × 94 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 24 × 36 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 17th century
- Subjects: Lilies, Virgin Mary, Sewing
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1177.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1177/1920.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
- 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
- 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
- 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

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/the-young-virgin-met-437971).