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TattooLOG

References, processes and ideas that guide my tattoo work. It’s a space to give context and clarity to the style and the thinking behind the designs.

 

Agnus Dei

Zurbarán’s Lamb
This tattoo was meant to be a direct copy of Francisco de Zurbarán’s Agnus Dei—just the lamb, nothing else.

The original painting, made between 1635 and 1640, is small, simple, and haunting. It shows a lamb lying on a dark surface, legs bound, its body calm, its fate already decided. Zurbarán painted it with quiet precision, without distraction. There’s no background, no setting, no narrative—just the weight of the image, heavy and still.

The lamb is a loaded symbol. It speaks of sacrifice, innocence, suffering—but also of peace and surrender. In Christian tradition, it refers to Christ as the “Lamb of God,” offered for the sins of the world. But like all powerful images, it moves beyond its religious frame. Today, it can also evoke vulnerability, endurance, and the silent strength of something soft caught in the middle of violence.

When you strip away the religious layers, what remains is this: a creature in absolute stillness. Helpless, but not afraid. Resigned, but not erased. That’s the part that stayed with me. That’s what I wanted to mark into skin.

There’s something sacred in how Zurbarán painted it—not in the iconography, but in the restraint. The brushwork is delicate but decisive. The body glows faintly in the dark, like it’s lit from within. The image is timeless, because it refuses drama. Just form, texture, shadow—and a presence you can’t quite explain.

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Explore the original painting here:
👉 https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/agnus-dei/df5f9d27-26db-4507-8787-0bbdc3fb8c7b

Francisco de Zurbarán, "Agnus Dei," 1635-40, Oil on Canvas, 14.5" H x 24" L, Museo del Prado.

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