They are a very special set of paintings that arrived in England in mysterious circumstances and which were only accessible to the guests of one of the richest and most powerful men in Europe for years. Now, they are at the heart of a new exhibition of Spanish art which has brought Queen Letizia to England.
‘Jacob and his Twelve Sons’ were painted by Francisco de Zurburan, famed for his portrayals of religious subjects. They are life size portraits of the Biblical figures and were painted between 1641 and 1658. However, by the start of the 18th century they were in England although no one knows how they arrived in the country. Some art historians have argued they were captured by pirates while being taken from Spain to the Americas.
In 1757, twelve of the paintings were sold to the Bishop of Durham, one of the most powerful men in the Church of England. Richard Trevor bought Jacob and eleven of his sons to hang in the Long Dining Room at his residence at Auckland Castle. However, the last of the paintings, of Jacob’s youngest son, Benjamin, was sold to the Duke of Ancaster and ended up at Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire. Bishop Trevor commissioned a copy to complete his own set.
Richard Trevor had a very important motive for buying the paintings. He was a supporter of the ‘’Jewish Naturalisation Act’’, legislation that would allow Jewish people living in Britain to apply to parliament for naturalisation. This artistic move was designed to underline his backing for an end to discrimination.
The paintings hung at Auckland Castle for years, accessible only to the guests of the Bishop of Durham. In 2001, Church Commissioners decided to sell them but they were saved in 2011 by a donation of £15 million from Jonathan Ruffer. They are now part of the Auckland Castle Trust. Jonathan Ruffer and his wife Jane habe set up the Auckland Project which aims to revitalise the town of Bishop Auckland where the castle nestles.
After being loaned to galleries in North and South America for a period, the paintings are now back at Auckland where they form a central part of the new Spanish Gallery, opened by Queen Letizia who was accompanied by the Prince of Wales.
The long and intriguing story of the paintings has now acquired a very royal chapter.
