Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia

This 1640 Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia in the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum depicts the 13th-century Hungarian princess known for her charitable works among the poor. As a member of the Third Order of St. Francis, she was particularly venerated in Franciscan churches where Zurbarán received many commissions. Francisco de Zurbarán, working primarily for the great religious institutions of Seville and Extremadura, was the most important painter of Spanish Counter-Reformation devotional art outside Velázquez's specific domain. His distinctive treatment of religious figures — the sculptural weight of cloth, the specific quality of Spanish late-afternoon light on faces, the complete absence of sentimentality — gave his saints a spiritual gravity that served the theological requirements of post-Trent Catholicism. The austerity of his manner, its reduction of the religious figure to an almost abstract presence of devotional intensity, connects Spanish devotional practice to the medieval heritage of contemplative prayer.

The saint wears an elaborate crown and rich garments identifying her royal status, while carrying roses that recall the miracle of her secret charity. Zurbarán's textile rendering reaches extraordinary detail in the royal costume.