Past Exhibition

All Objects

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Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)
Jacob, ca. 1640–45
Oil on canvas
79 1/8 x 40 5/16 in. (201 x 102.4 cm)
Auckland Castle, County Durham, UK, courtesy Auckland Castle Trust/Zurbarán Trust
© The Auckland Project/Zurbarán Trust; photo Robert LaPrelle

Gather around, that I may tell you what will 
happen to you in days to come.

Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob; 
listen to Israel your father.

"The Blessings of Jacob" (Genesis 49:1–2)

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)
Reuben, ca. 1640–45
Oil on canvas
78 9/16 x 40 9/16 in. (199.5 x 103 cm)
Auckland Castle, County Durham, UK, courtesy Auckland Castle Trust/Zurbarán Trust
© The Auckland Project/Zurbarán Trust; photo Robert LaPrelle

Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might and the first fruits of my vigor,
excelling in rank and excelling in power.

Unstable as water, you shall no longer excel
because you went up onto your father’s bed;
then you defiled it — you went up onto my couch!

“The Blessings of Jacob” (Genesis 49:3–4)

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)
Simeon, ca. 1640–45
Oil on canvas
79 1/16 x 40 3/4 in. (200.8 x 103.5 cm)
Auckland Castle, County Durham, UK, courtesy Auckland Castle Trust/Zurbarán Trust
© The Auckland Project/Zurbarán Trust; photo Robert LaPrelle

Simeon and Levi are brothers;
weapons of violence are their swords.

May I never come into their council;
may I not be joined to their company —
for in their anger they killed men,
and at their whim they hamstrung oxen.

Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob,
and scatter them in Israel.

“The Blessings of Jacob” (Genesis 49:5–7)

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)
Levi, ca. 1640–45
Oil on canvas
79 x 40 3/4 in. (200.7 x 103.5 cm)
Auckland Castle, County Durham, UK, courtesy Auckland Castle Trust/Zurbarán Trust
© The Auckland Project/Zurbarán Trust; photo Robert LaPrelle

Simeon and Levi are brothers;
weapons of violence are their swords.

May I never come into their council;
may I not be joined to their company —
for in their anger they killed men,
and at their whim they hamstrung oxen.

Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob,
and scatter them in Israel.

“The Blessings of Jacob” (Genesis 49:5–7)

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)
Judah, ca. 1640–45
Oil on canvas
79 1/4 x 40 3/4 in. (201.3 x 103.5 cm)
Auckland Castle, County Durham, UK, courtesy Auckland Castle Trust/Zurbarán Trust
© The Auckland Project/Zurbarán Trust; photo Robert LaPrelle

Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons shall bow down before you.

Judah is a lion’s whelp;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He crouches down, he stretches out like a lion,
like a lioness — who dares rouse him up?

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)
Zebulun, ca. 1640–45
Oil on canvas
78 1/2 x 40 1/2 in. (199.4 x 102.9 cm)
Auckland Castle, County Durham, UK, courtesy Auckland Castle Trust/Zurbarán Trust
© The Auckland Project/Zurbarán Trust; photo Robert LaPrelle

Zebulun shall settle at the shore of the sea;
he shall be a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.

“The Blessings of Jacob” (Genesis 49:13)

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)
Issachar, ca. 1640–45
Oil on canvas
78 1/2 x 40 1/2 in. (199.4 x 102.9 cm)
Auckland Castle, County Durham, UK, courtesy Auckland Castle Trust/Zurbarán Trust
© The Auckland Project/Zurbarán Trust; photo Robert LaPrelle

Issachar is a strong donkey,
lying down between the sheepfolds;

he saw that a resting place was good,
and that the land was pleasant;
so he bowed his shoulder to the burden,
and became a slave at forced labor.

“The Blessings of Jacob” (Genesis 49:14–15)

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)
Dan, ca. 1640–45
Oil on canvas
79 1/8 x 40 3/4 in. (201 x 103.5 cm)
Auckland Castle, County Durham, UK, courtesy Auckland Castle Trust/Zurbarán Trust
© The Auckland Project/Zurbarán Trust; photo Robert LaPrelle

Dan shall judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan shall be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
so that its rider falls backward.

I wait for your salvation, O Lord.

“The Blessings of Jacob” (Genesis 49:16–18)

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)
Gad, ca. 1640–45
Oil on canvas
78 1/2 x 40 9/16 in. (199.4 x 103 cm)
Auckland Castle, County Durham, UK, courtesy Auckland Castle Trust/Zurbarán Trust
© The Auckland Project/Zurbarán Trust; photo Robert LaPrelle

Gad shall be raided by raiders,
but he shall raid at their heels.

“The Blessings of Jacob” (Genesis 49:19)

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)
Asher, ca. 1640–45
Oil on canvas
79 1/4 x 40 15/16 in. (201.3 x 104 cm)
Auckland Castle, County Durham, UK, courtesy Auckland Castle Trust/Zurbarán Trust
© The Auckland Project/Zurbarán Trust; photo Robert LaPrelle

Asher’s food shall be rich,
and he shall provide royal delicacies.

“The Blessings of Jacob” (Genesis 49:20)

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)
Naphtali, ca. 1640–45
Oil on canvas
78 1/2 x 40 5/8 in. (199.4 x 103.2 cm)
Auckland Castle, County Durham, UK, courtesy Auckland Castle Trust/Zurbarán Trust
© The Auckland Project/Zurbarán Trust; photo Robert LaPrelle

Naphtali is a doe let loose
that bears lovely fawns.

“The Blessings of Jacob” (Genesis 49:21)

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)
Joseph, ca. 1640–45
Oil on canvas
79 1/4 x 40 3/4 in. (201.3 x 103.5 cm)
Auckland Castle, County Durham, UK, courtesy Auckland Castle Trust/Zurbarán Trust
© The Auckland Project/Zurbarán Trust; photo by Robert LaPrelle

Joseph is a fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough by a spring;
his branches run over the wall.

The archers fiercely attacked him;
they shot at him and pressed him hard.

Yet his bow remained taut,
and his arms were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)
Benjamin, ca. 1640–45
Oil on canvas
78 3/8 x 40 1/2 in. (199.2 x 103 cm)
The Grimsthorpe & Drummond Castle Trust
© Grimsthorpe and Drummond Castle Trust; photo Robert LaPrelle

Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey,
and at evening dividing the spoil.

“The Blessings of Jacob” (Genesis 49:27)