St Serapion
The original, as its museum records it
Every line above is reproduced from the holding institution’s own catalogue entry, which is linked. Where their title, date or attribution differs from ours, theirs is the one printed here.
The file this print is made from
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About this painting
Zurbarán painted this for the Sala de Profundis of the Mercedarian monastery in Seville — the room where dead friars were laid out before burial. It was made to be looked at by men keeping vigil over a body.
Mercedarians took a fourth vow beyond poverty, chastity and obedience: to stand hostage themselves for Christians held captive. Serapion kept it, and died for it in 1240.
There is no blood. Colour survives in one place: the badge of that vow. The note pinned beside him reads B. Serapius — Blessed. He would not be canonised for another hundred years.
Sources: Jeannine Baticle, Zurbaran, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987, cat. 5 · the fourth vow, in the order’s own words · conservation, acquisition 1951 · Melisa Palermo, 'Francisco de Zurbarán, The Martyrdom of Saint Serapion', Smarthistory.
Printed on demand. Public-domain masterwork, reproduced from a 3,600 px master of the original. The whole image is printed — never cropped to fit the sheet — so every sheet carries an archival margin, and the dimensions and resolution listed above are the ones you receive.