The seventeenth century, the Baroque, is considered the Golden Age of Spanish painting. Many artists from different regions and schools, were characterized by a style whose notes were outstanding tenebrist naturalism and the predominance of religious themes. Tenebrist painting stands out for strong contrasts of light and shadows, heightened realism in the representation of characters, the monuments in the figures, theatrical lighting and expressionistic attitude in their faces. All these features were used in the service of religious subjects with a predominance of pain and death. Among the artists who worked this style figures stood Francisco Ribalta and his disciples José de Ribera, belonging to the school in Valencia, and Francisco de Zurbarán and Esteban Murillo, Seville school.
Stylistic resources of José de Ribera Spanish and Italian Diego Velasquez and Caravaggio had a considerable influence on Francisco de Zurbaran. Among his paintings are The Apotheosis of St. Thomas Aquinas, Exposition of the body of St. Bonaventure, the series of paintings of the monastery of Guadalupe, and so on.
Francisco Ribalta was one of the major artists to put the language of the Baroque tenebrist the Valencia region. Among his works are Christ Embracing St. Bernard, St. Bruno, St. Francis Embracing the Crucified, and so on.