Zurbarán on display at Banco de la República in Bogota. Guest painting 2018

For the first time in history this famous painting by the painter Francisco de Zurbarán is displayed in Bogota within the framework of “Foco Cultural España-Colombia” (Spanish / Colombian Culture Spotlight) It will be on display for two months, from September to November 2018, at “Casa de Moneda”, the Banco de la República exhibition hall in Bogota.

The painting depicts a trussed lamb lying on a table, unmistakably ready to be sacrificed. Despite the lack of any religious items in the painting suggesting it is a still life, most scholars have interpreted the painting as a symbolic depiction of the Agnus Dei - Lamb of God, as Christ was called in liturgical language. The painting, an absolute masterpiece of elegant simplicity, is an example of just how ambiguous the limits were between religious paintings and still lifes, and is a hugely important work of art from the point of view of the history of still life painting.