Francisco de Zubaran, a seventeenth-century Spanish painter, is best known for his religious portraits of saints and of the Virgin Mary. This still life might seem mundane in comparison. But actually, it is a painting of Mary, too.
Whole, unpeeled lemons are associated with fidelity and love, while oranges and their blossoms suggest chastity and innocence. The single rose and cup of water are symbols of purity.
The formal and limited arrangement is placed on a beautifully rendered polished wood surface, as if it were a votive offering on an altar. In this way, Zurbaran has painted Mary in symbols, to show her virtues and her perfect self-gift to God.
