Jacob and his twelve sons Facts for Kids

Jacob by Zurbarán

The paintings called Jacob and his twelve sons (Spanish: Los doce hijos de Jacob) were created by a Spanish artist named Francisco de Zurbarán. There are thirteen paintings in this series. They show Jacob and his twelve sons, who are important figures from the Bible.

Zurbarán painted these life-size pictures between 1641 and 1658. Today, twelve of the paintings are at Auckland Castle in Bishop Auckland, England. The thirteenth painting is at Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire.

In 2016, the series traveled to America for the first time. They were shown at the Meadows Museum in Dallas, Texas, from September 2017 to January 2018. After that, they were displayed in New York City at the Frick Collection from January to April 2018.

About the Paintings
History of the Artworks
- The Paintings in the 21st Century
Gallery
See also

About the Paintings

It was quite unusual for artists of that time to paint such large portraits of Jacob and his sons. Usually, artists like Ribera and Velázquez included these men in paintings that told stories from the Bible.

An art expert named Jeannine Baticle says there is another series of Jacob and his sons paintings in Lima, Peru. She describes them as very similar to Zurbarán's series at Auckland Castle. There is also another, less similar, set of paintings in Puebla, Mexico. These were made by someone who copied Zurbarán's style.

History of the Artworks

No one knows exactly how these paintings arrived in England. Some people think English pirates might have captured them. This could have happened while the paintings were being shipped from Zurbarán's studio in Seville, Spain. They might have been on their way to a buyer in a Spanish colony in America.

The first official record of the paintings is from 1722. They were part of the belongings of a person named William Chapman. Later, a banker from London, James Mendez, owned them. His family sold twelve of the thirteen paintings in 1757. They were bought by Richard Trevor, who was the Bishop of Durham.

Bishop Trevor was a very open-minded person for his time. He supported the Jewish Naturalization Act 1753. This law would have allowed Jewish people to become citizens of England. To show his support, Bishop Trevor bought the paintings. He then changed the design of the Long Dining Room at Auckland Castle. He wanted to display the paintings there as a public statement. Even though the law was quickly canceled, the paintings stayed in the dining room.

The painting of one of Jacob's sons, Benjamin, was sold separately. It went to the Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven. This painting now hangs in Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire. Bishop Trevor hired an artist named Arthur Pond to make a copy of the "Benjamin" painting. This copy hangs with Jacob and the other eleven sons in the Long Dining Room at Auckland Castle.

The Paintings in the 21st Century

In 2001, the Church Commissioners decided to sell the paintings. However, this decision was changed in 2011. This happened after a very generous donation of £15 million from Jonathan Ruffer. He is an investment manager and helps many good causes.

New plans were made for the paintings and the castle. They are now managed by the Auckland Castle Trust. This means the public can now see the paintings. For hundreds of years, they were in a private home. Only invited guests or people with special permission could see them.