Charlotte mullins comments on a cup of water and a rose

1 min read

John Booth

My favourite painting

A cup of water and a rose

by Francisco de Zurbarán

**John Booth is chair of the National Gallery’s board of trustees**

‘Zurbarán is known for his religious commissions and for his austere and numinous style. In this intense little painting, the beautiful play of light on water, rose and silver plate makes them glisten and gleam against their plain, dark background. Small it may be, but it has extraordinary presence. The simplicity of its composition and the beauty of its execution encourage contemplation. To a devout 17th-century eye, the objects are likely to have brought to mind attributes of the Virgin Mary–her purity symbolised by water and her Immaculate Conception by a thornless rose. In a collection bursting with treasures, it’s very hard to choose a favourite, but this painting causes me to pause, breathe deeply and appreciate the painter’s skill and inspiration. It makes me look slowly’

**A cup of water and a rose, about 1630, oil on canvas, 8½in by 12in, by Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664), The National Gallery, London**

FRANCISCO DE ZURBARÁN was born in 1598 in Fuente de Cantos, a small village in southern Spain. His parents worked the land, but, aged 15, he was sent to the city of Seville to apprentice a painter. There, he befriended Diego Velázquez and the two remained close throughout their lives. Zurbarán returned to the area of his birth and established a studio in the small town of Llerena, but, increasingly, he worked for

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