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an important role in establishing the first
printing press in the New World and in
publishing the earliest topics for an Ameri-
can audience—religious texts in Spanish
and indigenous languages, including a book
that he wrote. By the late 1540s Zumárra-
ga's work had made such a favorable
impression in M
ADRID
and Rome that the
pope elevated him to the rank of arch-
bishop. Still sincerely humble he at first
tried to refuse the honor but was persuaded
that it would serve the best interests of his
flock. Zumárraga set an example for those
who followed him in the succession of
American prelates that only a few could
match in the centuries to come.
municipal authorities had designated him
“official painter.” He subsequently moved
to M
ADRID
, where as one of a number of
“painters to the king” he completed a series
of mythological decorations (the
Labors of
Hercules
) for a royal palace. His real skill and
taste lay, however, in studies of saints and
clergy (both prelates and humble monks).
In his last years the solid, austere style that
had won him such favor lost ground to the
new taste for B
ARTOLOMÉ
E
STEBAN
M
URIL
-
LO
's more sentimentalized paintings.
Zurbarán's masterpiece, by general con-
sensus, is
The Apotheosis of St. Thomas Aqui-
nas
(1625), which is still regarded as one of
the greatest of Spanish paintings. His stud-
ies of St. Peter and St. Jerome and various
members and patrons of orders all exhibit
an intensity of religious feeling combined
with remarkable technical skill. The strength
and dignity of his paintings as well as their
mastery of color have earned him a tran-
scendent place among the numerous artists
who shared the stage with D
IEGO
R
ODRÍ
-
GUEZ
V
ELÁZQUEZ
during Spain's Golden Age
(S
IGLO
DE
O
RO
).
Zurbarán, Francisco de
(1598-1664)
Spanish painter
Born in E
XTREMADURA
and early appren-
ticed to a local painter, Zurbarán was
already attracting attention with his reli-
gious subjects by age 18. Much of his earlier
work was executed on commission from
churches and monasteries in S
EVILLE
, whose
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