Still Life with Lemons, Orange and a Rose

Francisco de Zurbarán’s small still life arranges a few humble objects — a plate of lemons, a cup of water on a silver saucer, a basket of oranges, and a single rose — against a dark, undefined ground. The objects are painted with sculptural precision and lit with a raking light that gives each form a monumental presence. The composition has been read as a meditation on purity and transience, a quiet devotional image in secular guise.