The Louvre Positions Francisco de Zurbarán at the Center of Its Autumn 2026 Season
The Musée du Louvre has launched its major autumn 2026 exhibition dedicated to Spanish master Francisco de Zurbarán, running from Oct. 7 through Jan. 25. Developed in collaboration with the National Gallery in London and the Art Institute of Chicago, the monographic showcase titled simply “Zurbarán” arrives in Paris following a run in the British capital. The exhibition features a combined thematic and chronological layout designed to introduce the French public to the 17th-century painter beyond his traditional classification as a strictly religious artist.
At a press preview, Charlotte Chastel-Rousseau, conservadora jefe del departamento de Pintura del Louvre and curator of the Paris installation, emphasized the artist’s technical range, noting that Zurbarán was an immense colorist. The exhibition opens with La Santa Faz, painted in 1631, and draws visitors into the works that launched his career in Seville during the early decades of the 17th century, including a Crucificado commissioned for the convent of San Pablo el Real.
Sculptural Dialogue with the National Museum of Sculpture in Valladolid
Running alongside the main monographic display, the Louvre has integrated an independent exhibition titled Sculpter la Couleur (“Sculpting Color”), featuring 23 loans from the Museo Nacional de Escultura in Valladolid. Valérie Carpentier-Vanhaverbeke, curator of this parallel section, explained that the installation creates a mirror effect with the paintings to illustrate the cultural and religious environment surrounding Spain’s Golden Age masters.
The secondary showcase includes polychrome sculptures that blend the physical volume of carving with painted surfaces, highlighting five large carvings by Gregorio Fernández that traditionally process through the streets of Valladolid during Holy Week. Carpentier-Vanhaverbeke noted that the exhibition aims to give the French public a broader view of 17th-century Spanish sculpture, pointing out the distinct sculptural quality present in Zurbarán’s paintings and his depictions of saints.
Expanded Themes and Cultural Programming Across the Museum
The Paris exhibition brings together 65 canvases, examining not only Zurbarán’s foundational depictions of the Immaculate Conception—described by Chastel-Rousseau as a fundamental theme in his career—but also his still lifes and works painted for King Philip IV’s Palacio del Buen Retiro, which allowed the artist to explore Greek mythology. The display also traces the evolution of his later style, the brief career of his son and collaborator Juan de Zurbarán before his death from the plague, and the subsequent rediscovery of his work by French Romantics in the 19th century, as well as his influence on Cubists like Pablo Picasso and Juan Gris.
To accompany the exhibition ahead of its final transfer to Chicago, the Louvre has organized a series of parallel events, beginning Oct. 9 with a film cycle curated by Rossy de Palma. Additional programming features a public conversation with writer Angélica Liddell on Oct. 21, a staging of Tirso de Molina’s El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra by the Comédie-Française in November, baroque music concerts in the museum auditorium, and a dedicated Spanish cultural week in early December that opens with a performance by bailaor Israel Galván beneath the glass pyramid.
