Oh my. The first painting you encounter in the Zurbarán exhibition is an astonishing crucifixion. The stark white figure of Christ against a black background seems to give off light… or does the light strike it? Look closely at the feet: they’re filthy, for Christ has carried the cross barefoot. It’s pure theatre, but it is also a devotional work, inspiring pity and awe. Those two elements are everywhere in this marvellous exhibition — high drama and emotion. And beauty.
Swivel round in this first room and you see another astonishing picture, a crucifix in a slanting downward motion, for this is a painting of St Peter, crucified upside down, with a kneeling friar looking at him, his hand raised in surprise or reverence. There’s nothing venerable about this Peter… he’s an old man, his mouth drawn back over his teeth, his skin reddened, and in the undignified position of being turned upside down for his last agony.
