Documentary film produced for the National Gallery to accompany its major exhibition on Francisco de Zurbarán, one of the most significant painters of the Spanish Baroque.
Filmed across the United Kingdom and Spain, the documentary brings together leading curators, art historians and specialists to explore Zurbarán’s life, artistic practice and enduring legacy. Through expert interviews and close examination of key works, the film reveals how the artist’s masterful use of light, texture and composition created images of extraordinary spiritual intensity and realism.
Working in seventeenth-century Seville, then one of Europe’s wealthiest and most influential cities, Zurbarán produced paintings for religious institutions, patrons and collectors across Spain. The documentary examines the distinctive qualities of his work, the reasons for his success during his lifetime, and the continuing power of his paintings to captivate audiences today.
Production included location filming in museums, galleries and historic sites in both the UK and Spain, providing an international perspective on the artist and his remarkable contribution to art history.