'With the Most Diligence Possible': Francisco de Zurbarán and the Overseas Art Trade in the Seventeenth Century

Abstract

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664), the Spanish Baroque painter, is famous for images created for Seville's monasteries and Philip IV's Hall of Realms. Many of his works were additionally sent to the Americas. This article considers the documentary record of Zurbarán's overseas activities in order to elucidate the mechanics of the transatlantic art trade in the midseventeenth century. In doing so, the article traces the processes associated with speculative and commissioned works from beginning to end, paying particular attention to the cast of characters involved and to the effects of transoceanic voyages on the paintings and our appreciation of them today.