Called the "Spanish Caravaggio", Francisco de Zurbarán's art is dark, stark and deeply moving. Born in a small town in Extremadura, he rose to become one of the most successful and distinctive artists of the Spanish Golden Age. His somber, meditative approach to religious subjects captured the Spanish imagination during the height of Counter Reformation reform, and during his forty year career he decorated many of Spain's greatest cathedrals and monasteries. His work also spread beyond Spain's boarders. Many of his paintings were exported to the Americas and there they formed the artistic backdrop to the conversion of a continent. In this lecture we will explore Zurbarán's world and how his art stands at the intersection between faith and empire.
(In 2026 the National Gallery, London, will host the first exhibition dedicated to Zurbarán's art in Britain. This lecture is offered in conjunction with this show).
ISABELLE KENT
Isabelle is an academic and educator specialising in the baroque, with a particular focus on Spain and its empire. She received a BA and MPhil in History of Art from Trinity College, Cambridge, where she is currently completing her PhD on the art of Diego Velázquez and Francisco de Zurbarán. From 2017 to 2019 she worked as the Enriqueta Harris Frankfort Curatorial Assistant at the Wallace Collection and in 2020 her book Collecting Bartolomé Esteban Murillo in Britain and Ireland was published by CEEH. Alongside her academia, Isabelle is an expert guide for a travel company, leading groups around Spain and beyond, and she also teaches regularly for the V&A, Art Fund, Royal Academy, Chelsea Arts Club, Wallace Collection and University of Cambridge.
The Arts Society Helmsley
A varied programme of fascinating illustrated lectures, given by entertaining and knowledgeable speakers.
£30 joining fee and £10 per lecture. Guests £15 per lecture | 7pm (doors 6.30pm)
For Arts Society information contact [email protected]