Image: Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona
The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya has highlighted a research project centered on three works associated with the Spanish Baroque master Francisco de Zurbarán, asking whether they came from the same workshop. In a post promoting the museum’s 'La ciència de l’art' series, MNAC says its team is investigating three apparently sister paintings of Saint Francis, one of which is different from the others.
The museum frames the study as part of a broader look at how technical and art-historical analysis can clarify authorship, workshop practice and the relationships between closely related paintings. The online chapter carries the title 'La foscor de Francisco de Zurbaran' and is presented as a video entry within the 'La ciència de l’art' strand on the museum’s Canal +MNAC platform.
Zurbarán, a leading figure of Spain’s Golden Age, is the named artist in the project, but the museum’s wording is careful: the question is not simply whether the works are by Zurbarán, but whether they originated in the same workshop. That distinction places the focus on attribution and production, areas where visual similarities can mask differences in execution, handling or studio involvement.
The museum’s short announcement does not identify the three Saint Francis works individually, nor does it publish the research findings in the social post. Instead, it points viewers to the Canal +MNAC chapter, which is described as part of the museum’s continuing series on art science and conservation-oriented inquiry. The page also shows the broader 'La ciència de l’art' section alongside other video entries in the series.
MNAC is based at Palau Nacional in Parc de Montjuïc, Barcelona, and the linked page sits within the museum’s online content offering rather than a separately announced exhibition or public event. The institution’s presentation suggests a focus on educational outreach, bringing museum research into a format designed for online viewers.
The post, published on 3 August 2026, underscores the museum’s interest in the forensic side of art history: three works that appear related, one that differs, and a question about whether they share a workshop origin. The chapter 'La foscor de Francisco de Zurbaran' is available through Canal +MNAC.
