Don Juan Bazo de Moreda

ca. 1655

Francisco de Zurbarán Spanish, 1598-1664

On View

European: Medieval and Renaissance, Level 2, West Wing

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

This is one of Francisco de Zurbarán’s few known secular portraits. The subject is Don Juan Bazo de Moreda, a successful infantry captain and sergeant major in the formidable Spanish regiment called the “Tercios.” He is depicted life-size against a spare background and shown in military dress, with one hand resting on a ceremonial staff used to guide soldiers in battle. The dramatic lighting illuminates his face and emphasizes the strength with which he grasps the staff. The lengthy inscription in the corner is written in the past tense, suggesting the portrait was made posthumously. Zurbaran probably did not know the sitter personally; the family would have provided him with an image such as a portrait miniature from which to work. This celebratory painting would have served as a memento of and testimony to the military glory of a man who earned a knighthood for his extraordinary service to the Spanish crown. From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)

Title Don Juan Bazo de Moreda

Artwork Date ca. 1655

Artist Francisco de Zurbarán

Life Dates 1598-1664

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Spanish

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Unframed: 78 5/8 × 40 1/4 inches (199.7 × 102.2 cm) Framed: 88 7/8 × 51 1/4 × 3 5/8 inches (225.7 × 130.2 × 9.2 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department European Painting

Credit Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, Jill Ford Murray Fund, and Joseph M. de Grimme Memorial Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2015.13

Markings

Inscriptions Inscribed, lower left: DON IV BAZO DE MOREDA D(E)L | ABITO D(E) SANTIAGO NATVRAL | I REGIDOR PERPETVO QVE FVE D(E) LA | CIVD(A)D DE LOGROÑO, CAPITÁN DE INFĀ | TERÍA ESPAÑOLA EN LOS ESTAD(O)S D(E) FLAND | (E)S, SARGENTO MAYOR D(E)L TERCIO VIE(JO) | I GOBERNAD(O)R D(E)L MISMO TERCIO. GOBERNA | DOR DE VD(O)NARDA. MVRIÓ GOBERNA | DE DEXISMVNDA EN DICHOS ESTA | DOS. DE EDAD DE 38 AÑOS. 1654 | AN 1654 [translated from Spanish: Don Juan Bazo de Moreda of the Order of St. James who hailed from the city of Logroño, where he was a councilman for life, an infantry capitan in Flanders, a sergeant major in the old regiment and head of the same regiment. Governor of Oudenaarde. He died as a governor of Diksmunde in those lands. Aged 38. 1654]

Provenance

private collection (Barcelona, Spain). private collection (Spain). (Coll & Cortés Ltd. Fine Arts, London, United Kingdom)

2015-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Zurbarán: A New Perspective. Exh. cat., Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. Madrid, 2015, pp. 114-115, no. 27.

Coll & Cortés. Spanish Painting. London and Spain, 2012, pp. 140–145.

Bulletin of the DIA: Notable Acquisitions, 2000–2015 89, no. 1/4 (2015), p. 94 (ill.).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Francisco de Zurbarán, Don Juan Bazo de Moreda, ca. 1655, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, Jill Ford Murray Fund, and Joseph M. de Grimme Memorial Fund, 2015.13.