Let’s visit the ‘Zurbarán (super)natural’ exhibition at MNAC 

The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC) invites us to discover its new temporary exhibition together with its curators, Àlex Mitrani – curator of modern and contemporary art at MNAC – and Joan Yeguas – curator of Renaissance and Baroque art at MNAC. After the presentation we can enjoy a free visit to the exhibition. 

The exhibition Zurbarán (super)natural, a collaboration between the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, brings together for the first time all three known versions of Saint Francis of Assisi According to Pope Nicholas V’s Vision, a major work by Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664). The absolutely exceptional possibility of comparing the three paintings sheds light on each of them. Moreover, the recent restoration of the version conserved at MNAC has revealed hidden details and recovered its original appearance, further enriching the visitor experience. 

The exhibition also presents other importance pieces by the painter from Seville, like the two subtly different versions of Still Life with Vessels, from the Museo del Prado and MNAC respectively. The ability to transcend reality and enter a spiritual dimension is among the constants in Zurbarán’s work, as observed in these paintings, which illustrate the aesthetics of silence, the void and contemplation in which the everyday becomes mystical.