The SAM announces the acquisition of a Zurbarán

Two paintings by seventeenth-century European masters have been presented as a representative part of the Baroque painting collection

Seattle, 01/10/12

The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) has announced the acquisition of two seventeenth-century paintings destined for its collection of European art. These are The Visitation by Philippe de Champaigne (1602-1674) andThe Flight into Egypt by Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664), which was covered in our magazine by Odile Delenda (Ars Magazine, No. 5 , January-March 2010, pp. 102-115). Both pieces have been acquired thanks to the collaboration of its previous owner, collector and museum patron Barney A. Ebsworth.

The Flight into Egypt dates from 1630-1635. Zurbarán depicts Joseph and Mary on their way to Egypt after Joseph's prophetic dream that warned of the threat of Herod, in a sober and popular tone -Mary wears the hat and coat in the usual religious pilgrimage–, even sublime, by the frontal orientation that invites devout veneration. Delenda marked two stages in the course of this work. One in Peru in the eighteenth century, where it was copied by Joaquin Urreta for the convent of the Descalzos in Lima; and another regarding the reappearance in Europe, nearly two decades ago in Belgium.

The Visitation by Philippe de Champaigne dates from 1643. This is one of the four painted canvases dedicated to the Virgin for the chapel of a high official of the French royal court in the Oratory of Jesus Church in Paris. In the one here, the divine identity of both pregnant women –Mary and Elizabeth–, is represented according to Luke as a symbol of transition from the old to the new law. Both paintings are displayed in the halls of European art at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) since December 21, 2011. Alejandro Martínez

Francisco de Zurbarán. The Flight into Egypt (detail). Circa 1630-1635. Oil on canvas, 150 x 159 cm. © Seattle Art Museum.