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These are probably two paintings meant for private devotion, the outcome of a commission for a certain client who wanted to portray two maiden sisters, quite possibly his daughters. The evocative capacity behind these paintings clearly led to the work of Emilio Orozco devoted to the iconographic interpretation of these themes in Zurbarán's painting; indeed, Orozco finds them the most vivid image of the "a lo divino" (divine-like) portraits, as he called them. Women from the era bedecked in the rich clothing of laypeople which reveal to us their social standing and the fine line between sanctity and mundanity, since by depicting them with the attributes of martyrdom, there is most likely an intention to associate them with the saints with whom they share their names.

In the first of them, Zurbarán introduces the virgin Catherine of Alexandria in a very intimate, close-up and almost familiar mood because of the way he approaches holiness. More than three-quarters profile and carrying the sword which decapitated her in one hand and the palm frond of her martyrdom in the other, the saint is twisting sideway, and her look is sweet melancholy, surely inspired by a certain someone, just like her pair.

Designed to complete the composition, facing Saint Catherine and gazing at each other, the iconography of the second portrait has not been adequately identified, as she is carrying the palm frond and a book and is wearing a crown, but shows no specific attribute. Soria recognised her as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, who was the queen of Hungary. However, Serrera believed that it depicts Saint Eulalia, without having provided a very convincing explanation to justify this iconographic identification. As Delenda has recently pointed out, since she is crowned and probably represents a queen, it may well be an evocation of Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, although the roses associated with her miracle are missing. It certainly reflects a maiden of great warmth and beauty who is looking at the spectator seeking consolation, while also trying to show or say something with one hand. Perhaps the beauty that inhabits her body is also the living likeness of God, since she is standing at the very gateway to heaven. The blushing face in beautiful flesh tones exemplifies the tenderness that Zurbarán was able to achieve in his portraits.

In this kind of work, the master's refinement and qualities reach astonishing levels, acknowledging its autographic quality and its conception of most likely conditioned by a private commission. The colour of the backgrounds and the way they are illuminated lead us to consider the possibility of a later date than what has been assumed for these works, closer to the 1650s. In any event, what powerfully draws our attention and makes these two paintings so unique is that they have remained together over time, along with the certainty that they are one of the most prominent examples of 17th-century Spanish portraiture since they merge aristocratic beauty and elegance with the most persuasive sanctity by depicting two "courtly" saints posing for eternity. [Benito Navarrete Prieto]

Selected bibliography

• Plasencia, Antonio. Catálogo de las obras de pintura y escultura del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Imprenta Provincial, 1932. p. 108, n° cat. 108. (Con el título Retrato de una santa mártir, y atribuido a Francisco de Zurbarán)
• Gaya Nuño, Juan Antonio. Zurbarán. Barcelona, Aedos, 1948. p. 174, il.
• Soria, Martín S. "Some flemish sources of Baroque painting in Spain", The Art Bulletin, n° 4. 1948. P. 256.
• Soria, Martín S. The paintings of Zurbaran. London, Phaidon Press, 1953. pp. 23-24, 159, n° cat. 111.
• Gaya Nuño, Juan Antonio. Historia y guía de los Museos de España. Madrid, Espasa Calpe, 1955. p. 163.
• Torres Martín, Ramón. Zurbarán : el pintor gótico del siglo XVI. Sevilla, Gráficas del Sur, 1963. n° cat. 145.
• Lasterra, Crisanto de. Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : catálogo descriptivo : sección de arte antiguo. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 1969. p. 119, n° cat. 251. (Con el título Santa Catalina de Alejandría, y atribuido a ZURBARÁN, Francisco de).
• Frati, Tiziana. Tout l'ouvre peint de Zurbarán. París, Flammarion, 1973. N° cat. 159
• Frati, Tiziana. La obra pictórica completa de Zurbarán. Barcelona ; Madrid, Editorial Noguer, 1976. n° cat.159.
• Gallego, Julián ; Gudiol Ricart, José. Zurbarán, 1598-1664. Barcelona, Poligrafa, 1976. fig. 411.
• Angulo Íñiguez, Diego ; Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso Emilio. Historia de la pintura española : escuela madrileña del segundo tercio del siglo XVII. Madrid, Instituto Diego Velázquez, 1983. p. 306.
• Luna, Juan José. "Zurbarán en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao", Urtekaria 1986 : asterlanak, albistak = Anuario 1986 : estudios, crónicas. 1987. pp. 11-17, n° cat. 51.
• Guinard, Paul. Zurbaran et les peintres espagnols de la vie monastique. Paris, Les Editions du Temps, 1988. n° cat. 253.
• Zurbarán [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Ministerio de Cultura, 1988. n° cat. 111.
• Obras maestras de la Colección Masaveu [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Museo del Prado, 1989. p. 66.
• Capolavori dal Museo di Bellas Artes di Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Roma, Leonardo-De Luca, 1991. pp. 29-30, n° cat. 6. (Con el título Santa Caterina d'Alessandria, y atribuido a Francisco de Zurbarán)
• Galilea Antón, Ana María. Catalogación y estudio de los fondos de Pintura Española del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao del siglo XIII al XVIII (de 1270 a 1700) [tesis inédita]. 1993. pp. 810-814. (Con el título 'Santa Catalina de Alejandría', y atribuido a Francisco de Zurbarán)
• Galilea Antón, Ana María. Catalogación y estudio de los fondos de Pintura Española del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao del siglo XIII al XVIII (de 1270 a 1700) [tesis inédita]. 1993. p. 437, fig. 334. (Con el título Santa Catalina de Alejandría, y atribuido a Francisco de Zurbarán)
• Galilea Antón, Ana María. "La colección de Pintura Española anterior a 1700 en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao", Urtekaria 1994 : asterlanak, albistak = Anuario 1994 : estudios, crónicas. 1995. pp. 11, 38, 39. (Con el título Santa Catalina de Alejandría, y atribuido a Francisco de ZURBARÁN)..
• Spanyol mestermuvek a Bilbaói Szépmuvészeti Múzeumból [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao ; Banco Bilbao Vizcaya, 1996. pp. 40-42.
• Francisco de Zurbarán, 1598-1664 [Cat. exp.]. Granada, Centro Cultural la General, 1999. p. 104.
• Bilbao a Genova : la cultura cambia le città [Cat. exp.]. Milán, Skira editore, 2003. p. 86.
• Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 59.
• En torno a Santa Rufina : Velázquez de lo íntimo a lo cortesano [Cat. exp.]. Sevilla, Fundación Focus-Abengoa, 2008. p. 63.
• Delenda, Odile. Francisco de Zurbarán, 1598-1664. Madrid, Fundación Arte Hispánico, 2009. pp. 481-482, n° cat. 157.
• Sota, Idoia. "Pintores del vestir", S Moda, n° 51. 08/09/2012. pp. 29-34.
• Santas de Zurbarán : devoción y persuasión [Cat. exp.]. Sevilla, Ayuntamiento de Sevilla, 2013. pp. 36, 65, 128-131.
• Manterola, Ismael [coord.]; Onaindia, Mikel [coord.]. "Bilbao 1919 : la Exposición Internacional de Pintura y Escultura = Bilbao 1919 : Nazioarteko Pintura eta Eskultura Erakusketa [Recurso electrónico]", Boletin 11 = Bulletina 11. 2019. p. 61.
• Zurbarán, una nueva mirada [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Fundación Colección-Thyssen Bornemisza, 2015. pp. 123-124, 193, n° cat. 31.
• Zurbarán [Cat. exp.]. Düsseldorf, Museum Kunstpalast, 2015. pp. 110-111, n° cat. 26.
• 110 Años 110 Obras [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 102-104, sin n° cat.
• 110 Ans 110 Oeuvres [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 102-104, sin n° cat.
• 110 Years 110 Works [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 102-104, sin n° cat.
• 110 Urte 110 Artelan [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 102-104, sin n° cat.