The Tribes of Israel (Jacob and his Twelve Sons), Francisco de Zurbarán (1640s)

Akemi Luisa Herráez Vossbrink depicts relations between imperial Spain and the Americas, through Francisco de Zurbarán’s paintings, The Tribes of Israel.

From Seville’s most acclaimed religious artist, Francisco de Zurbarán’s portrait series The Tribes of Israel (1640s) depicts the Old Testament patriarch Jacob and his twelve sons. The only such painting series to be found in Europe, de Zurbarán’s works inspired colonial reinterpretations in Peru and Mexico. Produced in Spain, destined for Latin America, and currently housed in the north of England, The Tribes of Israel reflect global artistic exchanges and power dynamics.

PRESENTER: Akemi Luisa Herráez Vossbrink, doctoral candidate at the University of Cambridge, and Meadows Museum Center for Spain in America (CSA) Curatorial Fellow.

ART: The Tribes of Israel (Jacob and his Twelve Sons), Francisco de Zurbarán (1640s).

IMAGE: ‘Joseph, from Jacob and His Twelve Sons’.

SOUNDS: Gnawledge.

PRODUCER: Jelena Sofronijevic.

Follow EMPIRE LINES at: twitter.com/jelsofron/status/1306563558063271936

Support EMPIRE LINES on Patreon: patreon.com/empirelines