Hermit

This version of 'Hermit' dated 1904, held in the Hermitage, likely relates to the Saint Louis work of the same year, reflecting Zuloaga's practice of developing related versions of successful compositions for different patrons. The hermit subject — embedded in Spanish Counter-Reformation culture, revived by Zurbarán and Ribera, reconsidered by Goya — gave Zuloaga a vehicle to assert his lineage within the great tradition of Spanish religious painting while investing it with contemporary existential gravity. Russian collectors proved particularly receptive to this dark, psychologically charged vision of Spain, and the Hermitage's holdings of Zuloaga are among the most significant outside Spain. By 1904 the artist was at the height of his European fame, having achieved breakthrough recognition in Paris and was beginning to conquer the American and Russian markets that would sustain his career through the first decades of the twentieth century.

The broad, physical application of dark paint in the robe areas, set against the controlled tighter handling of the face and hands, creates the tonal drama that characterizes Zuloaga's most powerful figure paintings. Deep blacks anchor the composition.