Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose

One of the few still lifes of the deeply religious Spanish painter Zurbaran. The dark colors and strong contrasts of Baroque painting are shown to advantage. A simple brown table, black background, but before that glowing lemons and oranges and the delicacy of a pink single rose blossom. Mary is referred to as 'Rose without thorns', the chalice on a zinc plate could point to Christ, the water in it to baptism. The oranges with their leaves and delicate orange blossoms may be a symbol of earthly life. They are in a bast basket. Unlike the lemons, which rest on a silver plate, which does not seem to fit in with their coarse naturalness, but rather reveals a relationship to the liturgy. The mysterious, meditative painting is like a declaration of love to life, be it earthly or supernatural, tautly spread out against a background like a shadow of death. The painter may have had a special relationship with this picture. It's the only one he signed.

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Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose by Francisco de Zurbaran
lemon · lemons · citrus · bowl · fruit · flower · basket · orange · oranges · painting · flowers · Norton Simon Collection, Pasadena, CA, USA / bridgemanimages.com