The Nigel Glendinning Lecture: Deconstructing Zurbarán
Free
Please book a free ticket to attend this talk as spaces are limited. Please arrive in good time to access the building and make your way to the Pigott Theatre from the Sainsbury Wing Entrance.
About
This lecture examines the artistic practice of Francisco de Zurbarán. While he trained in Seville between 1614 and 1617, Zurbarán notably never completed the examinations required to join the city’s official painters' guild. As his reputation grew among his contemporaries, his lack of formal accreditation created professional tensions.
Zurbarán’s style diverges from academic conventions and is often described as possessing a certain naïve awkwardness. However, it is precisely this quality that underpins the originality and enduring appeal of his work.
This lecture seeks to deconstruct Zurbarán’s artistic approach by analysing the methods and sources that informed his compositions. These include prints, sculpture, live models, and richly rendered textiles. Through these elements, Zurbarán achieved a striking realism that reinforces the spiritual and emotional impact of his paintings.
Speaker
Dr Xavier Bray is an art historian specialising in Spanish art and Director of the Wallace Collection, London, since 2016. He completed his PhD in 1999 at Trinity College, Dublin, on Goya as a painter of religious imagery. He was Chief Curator at Dulwich Picture Gallery, London and the Museum of Fine Arts, Bilbao, as well as Assistant Curator at the National Gallery. He has curated a wide range of exhibitions including ‘El Greco’, ‘Velázquez’, ‘The Sacred Made Real: Spanish Painting and Sculpture 1600–1700', ‘Murillo and Justino de Neve: The Art of Friendship’, ‘Goya: The Portraits’ and ‘Ribera: The Art of Violence’. Since joining the Wallace Collection, he has overseen and co-curated several exhibitions including ‘Richard Wallace: The Collector’, ‘Henry Moore: The Helmet Heads’, ‘Manolo Blahnik: An Enquiring Mind’, ‘Forgotten Masters: Indian Painting for the East India Company’, ‘Frans Hals: The Male Portraits’, ‘Faithful and Fearless: Portraits of Dogs’, ‘Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King’, ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ with Sir Grayson Perry and most recently ‘Caravaggio’s Cupid’.
Livestream
This listing is for an in-person event taking place in the Pigott Theatre. Unable to attend in person? This event will be livestreamed. Book online tickets.
Supported by
The Nigel Glendinning Lecture is supported by ARTES: Iberian & Latin American Visual Culture Group and the Instituto Cervantes
