Agnus Dei (Zurbarán)

Agnus Dei (Latin for Lamb of God) is an oil painting completed between 1635 and 1640 by the Spanish Baroque artist Francisco de Zurbarán. It is housed in the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain.

The Lamb of God is an allusion to Christ's title as recorded in John's Gospel (John 1: 29) when John the Baptist describes Jesus as "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World".^[1]

The painting appears in Sarah Phelps' BBC Agatha Christie "quintet", And Then There Were None, The Witness for The Prosecution, Ordeal by Innocence, The ABC Murders, and The Pale Horse. Its repeated use is to symbolise the trussed nature of the guilty character who has put himself on the path to perdition.^[2]

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Frame versions

Agnus Dei GMG Foundation Switzerland

Dated and signed in 1631. It is the first of Zurbarán's dated works on this subject. With dimensions of 84 × 116 cm (centimeters). This oil is perhaps one of the least studied. Nothing seems to be known of its origin. In the registered catalog it is identified with the number 39.^[3]

Agnus Dei Plandiura

Dated and signed in 1632, the Agnus Dei Plandiura,^[4] also known as the Ram with its legs tied, is an oil painting of 60 × 83 cm (centimeters), and one of the best versions, is currently in Barcelona in the Salvadó Plandiura collection. This work became known thanks to its restoration and exhibition as a "guest work" at the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum in 2004.^[5] It is registered in the catalog under number 55.^[6]

Agnus Dei del Prado

Without date or signature, the date has been estimated between 1635 and 1640 in Zurbarán's artistic peak. It is the most successful version of the existing ones and has been exhibited in the permanent collection of the Prado Museum in Madrid since its acquisition in 1986. It is known that it belonged to Ferdinand VII due to a wax seal that is preserved on the back of it. The virtuosity of its brushstrokes, the quality and simplicity of the corkscrew curls, make it one of the most elegant and substantive works of the Spanish Baroque. It is painted in oil on canvas and measures 38 cm (centimeters) high by 62 cm wide. In the catalog it corresponds to the number 105.^[7]

Agnus Dei Private Collection Madrid

With dimensions of 37 × 58 cm (centimeters), and dated approximately between 1635 and 1640, also without signature. This small oil painting, unlike others, made from life, is a very similar repetition, even in its dimensions, to that of the Prado Museum. The historian Matías Díaz Padrón recognized this work in 1981, which is in a Private Collection in Madrid, without us knowing more about its origin. In the Catalog raisonné it was assigned the number 105 bis.^[8]

Likewise, it is estimated that it was painted between 1635 and 1640, lacking a date or signature, the latter does not cause any doubt today about the quality of the piece and its authorship for experts, thanks to the restoration carried out in 2005. and that revealed the true qualities of the work that until then it was impossible to corroborate due to very abrasive cleaning that it suffered in the past, in addition to the notorious presence of oxidized varnishes. We are facing the fifth version of the "Ram with its legs tied", which was sold by the Ansorena auction house in 1996. It is numbered 106 in the Catalog Raisonné.^[9]

Agnus Dei of San Diego

It lacks a date or signature, dated approximately from 1635 to 1640. Interesting is the version found in The San Diego Museum or Art,^[10] of smaller dimensions, this one is 35.56 × 52.07 cm (centimeters), it was bequeathed to the museum by Anne R. and Amy Putnam. It is one of the two versions in which the double character of still life and religious painting is not a perception, the nimbus on the ram's head and the inscription "TANQUAM AGNUS" ('like a lamb') clearly allude to the mystical Lamb. In the catalog it has been awarded the number 107.^[11]

References

^ "Agnus Dei". Museo Nacional del Prado. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
^ "The Pale Horse writer Sarah Phelps reveals the painting she's hidden in every single Agatha Christie drama".
^ "Wildenstein Plattner Institute - C.R_Francisco_de_Zurbaran_Volume_I_Wildenstein_Institute - Page 182-183". view.publitas.com. Retrieved 4 September 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "El Tribunal Supremo declara "inexportable" un 'zurbarán'". El País. 3 July 2015.
^ "Carnero | exposiciones | Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao". Tienda del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
^ "Wildenstein Plattner Institute - C.R_Francisco_de_Zurbaran_Volume_I_Wildenstein_Institute - Page 226-227". view.publitas.com. Retrieved 4 September 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Wildenstein Plattner Institute - C.R_Francisco_de_Zurbaran_Volume_I_Wildenstein_Institute - Page 346-347". view.publitas.com. Retrieved 4 September 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Wildenstein Plattner Institute - C.R_Francisco_de_Zurbaran_Volume_I_Wildenstein_Institute - Page 348-349". view.publitas.com. Retrieved 4 September 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Wildenstein Plattner Institute - C.R_Francisco_de_Zurbaran_Volume_I_Wildenstein_Institute - Page 350-351". view.publitas.com. Retrieved 4 September 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Copia archivada". Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
^ "Wildenstein Plattner Institute - C.R_Francisco_de_Zurbaran_Volume_I_Wildenstein_Institute - Page 352-353". view.publitas.com. Retrieved 4 September 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}

External links

Zurbarán, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on this painting (see index)

v t e Francisco de Zurbarán
Paintings	Christ on the Cross (1627) Saint Serapion (1628) Displaying the Body of Saint Bonaventure (1629) The Vision of Saint Peter Nolasco (1629) Saint Peter Nolasco's Vision of Saint Peter the Apostle (1629) The House in Nazareth (1630) The Vision of Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez (1630) The Apotheosis of Saint Thomas Aquinas (1631) Saint Margaret of Antioch (1631) Immaculate Conception (1632) Saint Agatha (1633) Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose (1633) The Young Virgin (1633) The Archangel Gabriel (1634) Hercules and the Hydra (1634) Hercules Fighting the Nemean Lion (1634) Hercules Separates Mounts Calpe and Abylla (1634) The Death of Hercules (1634) The Defence of Cádiz Against the English (1634) Saint Elizabeth of Portugal (c. 1635) Agnus Dei (1635–1640) St Andrew (1635–1640) Saint Apollonia (1636) Saint Lawrence (1636–1639) Still Life with Pots (1650) Saint Luke Painting the Crucifixion (c. 1650) St Hugh in the Carthusian Refectory (1655) St Francis (1659) St. Francis in Ecstasy (1658–1660) The Virgin Mary as a Child Praying (1658–1660)
Painting series	Jacob and his twelve sons (1641–1658)
Related	Juan de Zurbarán (son) Caravaggisti Spanish Baroque painting

Museo del Prado

Buildings
Villanueva building Casón del Buen Retiro Hall of Realms Cloister of Saint Jerome

Paintings

Spanish	Esquivel: José de Espronceda Gisbert: Execution of Torrijos and his Companions on the Beach at Málaga Goya: Allegory of Industry – Asmodea – Atropos – Blind Man's Bluff – Boys playing soldiers – Charles IV of Spain and His Family – Los caprichos – Christ Crucified – The Clothed Maja – The Colossus – The Countess of Chinchon – Los disparates – The Dog – The Drunk Mason – The Duchess of Alba and la Beata – Fight with Cudgels – Judith and Holofernes – La Leocadia – Man Mocked by Two Women – Portrait of the Marchioness of Santa Cruz – Men Reading – The Milkmaid of Bordeaux – The Naked Maja – The Parasol – A Pilgrimage to San Isidro – Pilgrimage to the Fountain of San Isidro – Saturn Devouring His Son – The Second of May 1808 – Self-portrait at 69 years – Summer – The Third of May 1808 – Two Old Men – Two Old Ones Eating Soup – The Victorious Hannibal Seeing Italy from the Alps for the First Time – Witches' Flight – Witches' Sabbath (The Great He-Goat) El Greco: The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest – Adoration of the Shepherds – Doña María de Aragón Altarpiece – Annunciation – Christ Carrying the Cross – The Fable – The Flight into Egypt – Holy Face of Jesus – Holy Trinity – Julián Romero and Saint Julian – Portrait of a Doctor – Portrait of a Gentleman – Portrait of a Young Nobleman – Portrait of an Elderly Man – Portrait of an Unknown Gentleman – Portrait of Jerónimo de Cevallos – Portrait of Rodrigo Vázquez de Arce – Saint Andrew and Saint Francis – Saint Anthony of Padua – Saint Bernardino of Siena ^[1] – Saint James the Great – Saint John the Evangelist – Saint Paul – Saint Sebastian – Saint Thomas the Apostle – Holy Trinity – The Saviour – Virgin Mary Luna: The Death of Cleopatra Maíno: Adoration of the Magi – Portrait of a Gentleman – The Recovery of Bahía de Todos los Santos Murillo: Adoration of the Shepherds (1650) – Aranjuez Immaculate Conception – The Christ Child and the Infant John the Baptist with a Shell – Christ on the Cross (1675, 1677) – The Conversion of Saint Paul – The Good Shepherd – The Holy Family with a Little Bird – The Immaculate Conception of El Escorial – The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables – The Martyrdom of Saint Andrew – Our Lady of the Rosary – The Patrician's Dream – Rebecca and Eleazar Pradilla: Doña Joanna the Mad Ribera: Jacob's Dream – Democritus – Isaac and Jacob – Ixion – Tityos – The Martyrdom of Saint Philip – The Blind Sculptor Velázquez: Las Meninas – The Triumph of Bacchus – Las Hilanderas – The Surrender of Breda – Mars Resting – Equestrian Portrait of Philip IV – Equestrian Portrait of Elisabeth of France – Equestrian Portrait of Prince Balthasar Charles – Equestrian Portrait of Philip III – Equestrian Portrait of Margarita of Austria – Equestrian Portrait of the Count-Duke of Olivares – Adoration of the Magi – Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan – Christ Crucified – Coronation of the Virgin – View of the Garden of the Villa Medici – Prince Balthasar Charles as a Hunter – Portrait of the Infante Don Carlos – Doña Antonia de Ipeñarrieta y Galdós and Her Son Don Luis – The Jester Barbarroja – The Jester Calabacillas – The Jester Don Diego de Acedo – The Jester Don John of Austria – Portrait of Francisco Lezcano – Infanta Margarita Teresa in a Pink Dress – Portrait of Maria Anna – Portrait of Juan Martínez Montañés – The Nun Jerónima de la Fuente – Portrait of Pablo de Valladolid – Portrait of Philip IV in Armour – Portrait of Mariana of Austria – Portrait of Sebastián de Morra Zurbarán: Agnus Dei – The Death of Hercules – The Defence of Cádiz Against the English – Hercules and the Hydra – Hercules Separates Mounts Calpe and Abylla – Hercules Fighting the Nemean Lion – Saint Elizabeth of Portugal – Saint Luke Painting the Crucifixion – Saint Peter Nolasco's Vision of Saint Peter the Apostle – Still Life with Pots – The Vision of Saint Peter Nolasco
Dutch, Flemish, German	Anonymous: The Fountain of Life Baldung: The Three Ages of Man and Death Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights – Adoration of the Magi – Cutting the Stone – The Haywain Triptych – Head of a Halberdier – Paradise and Hell – The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things – The Temptation of St Anthony Bouts: Triptych of the Virgin's Life Bruegel the Elder: The Triumph of Death – The Wine of Saint Martin's Day – Excursion in the Countryside of Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia – Life in the Countryside – The Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia in the Mariemont Park (with de Momper) – Landscape (with de Momper) – The Five Senses (with Rubens) Campin: Marriage of the Virgin – The Werl Triptych de Crayer: Caritas Romana (1625) David: Rest on the Flight into Egypt Dürer: Adam and Eve – Self-Portrait van Dyck: Self-portrait with Sir Endymion Porter – The Betrayal of Christ – The Brazen Serpent – Diana and a Nymph Surprised by a Satyr – Saint Rosalia – The Crowning with Thorns van Hemessen: The Surgeon Francken the Younger: The Sciences and the Arts Jordaens: Apollo as Victor over Pan – Meleager and Atalanta – The Painter's Family Memling: Adoration of the Magi Mengs: Portrait of José Nicolás de Azara de Momper: Landscape with Sea and Mountains – A Farm – Flemish Market and Washing Place – Landscape with Skaters – The Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia in the Mariemont Park (with Brueghel the Elder) – Landscape (with Brueghel the Elder) Patinir: Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx Rembrandt: Judith at the Banquet of Holofernes Rubens: The Judgement of Paris (1638) – The Three Graces – Adoration of the Magi – The Dance of the Villagers – Diana and Callisto – Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Lerma – The Fall of Man – The Garden of Love – The Birth of the Milky Way – The Rape of Europa – The Rape of Ganymede – Saint George and the Dragon – Saturn – The Triumph of the Church – Deucalion and Pyrrha – The Five Senses (with Brueghel the Elder) Stom: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas Strobel: Feast of Herod with the Beheading of St John the Baptist Teniers the Younger: Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Painting Gallery in Brussels (1651) Verhaecht: Alpine Landscape van der Weyden: The Descent from the Cross – Durán Madonna
Italian	Fra Angelico: Annunciation Anguissola: Portrait of Elisabeth of Valois – Portrait of Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia ^[2] – Portrait of Giovanni Battista Caselli Barocci: Nativity Bellini: Madonna and Child with Saint Mary Magdalene and Saint Ursula Botticelli: The Story of Nastagio Degli Onesti, part one Caravaggio: David and Goliath Carracci: Assumption of the Virgin – Mural Paintings from the Herrera Chapel – Venus, Adonis and Cupid Correggio: Noli me tangere – Madonna and Child with the Infant John the Baptist A. Gentileschi: The Birth of Saint John the Baptist O. Gentileschi: The Finding of Moses (1633) Leonardo: Mona Lisa (by his studio) Lotto: Portrait of Marsilio Cassotti and His Bride Faustina Mantegna: Death of the Virgin Parmigianino: Holy Family with Angels – Portrait of Camilla Gonzaga and Her Three Sons – Portrait of Pier Maria Rossi di San Secondo – Saint Barbara Raphael: Portrait of a Cardinal – Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary – Madonna of the Rose – Visitation – La Perla (with Romano) Romano: Holy Family under an Oak Tree Andrea del Sarto: Sacrifice of Isaac Tintoretto: Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet – Joseph and Potiphar's Wife – Judith and Holofernes (by his studio) – The Washing of the Feet Tiepolo: The Immaculate Conception Titian: The Bacchanal of the Andrians – Equestrian Portrait of Charles V – The Fall of Man – Alfonso d'Avalos Addressing his Troops – Danaë Receiving the Golden Rain (1565) – The Entombment – La Gloria – Madonna and Child with St Anthony of Padua and St Roch – Mater Dolorosa – Philip II in Armour – Portrait of Charles V with a Dog – Portrait of Federico II Gonzaga – Portrait of Isabella of Portugal – Sisyphus – Tityus – Religion saved by Spain – Self-Portrait (1567) – St Margaret and the Dragon – Venus and Adonis (1554) – Venus and Musician (1550, 1555) – The Virgin and Child with Saint George and Saint Dorothy – The Worship of Venus Veronese: Venus and Adonis – Christ Among the Doctors – The Finding of Moses
French	Anonymous: Agony in the Garden Baudry: The Pearl and the Wave van Loo: The Family of Philip V (1743) Lorrain: Landscape with St Paula of Rome Embarking at Ostia – The Ford – Landscape with St María de Cervelló – Landscape with the Burial of St Serapia – Landscape with the Finding of Moses – Landscape with the Temptation of St Anthony – Landscape with Tobias and Raphael Poussin: Parnassus – Landscape with Three Figures – Saint Cecilia Ranc: The Family of Philip V (1723) – Portrait of Ferdinand VI as a Boy Watteau: Marriage Contract and Country Dancing Vouet: Time Defeated by Love, Beauty and Hope
Other	British paintings