Bishop Auckland exhibition to celebrate 'missing' Zurbarán women

Artist Jilly Johnston has created a portrait of Leah, one of Jacob's wives

Four exhibitions celebrating the "missing" women behind the famous paintings of Jacob and his sons by Francisco de Zurbarán are set to open.

The biblical portraits in Auckland Castle in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, were the basis of a campaign to keep them there when the site was sold.

The Auckland Project said the lives of five women connected to Jacob and his sons had gone "largely unrecorded".

The exhibitions will open on 8 March, International Women's Day.

Five professional artists were commissioned to paint life-size portraits of the women while young people have also been involved in creating side projects.

The 13 portraits of Jacob and his sons have been added to with five black spaces denoting the "missing" women

The women being celebrated are:

• Leah and Rachel, two sisters who were cousins and wives to Jacob

• Zilpah and Bilhah, potentially half-sisters to Leah and Rachel and their servants and Jacob's concubines

• Dinah, the daughter of Leah and Jacob

The works by Jilly Johnston, Lady Kitt, Leanne Pearce, Lizzie Lovejoy and Edwina Kung will feature in exhibitions at Auckland Castle and Bishop Auckland Town Hall until 28 May.

Ms Johnston, who painted Leah, said: "It's a privilege to paint a matriarch of the Old Testament and literally paint her back into the history of the Zurbarán series, in the Castle and into a story where she belongs.

"We hope that this will make visitors think about other people who do amazing things, have a story to tell and get written out of history like Leah."

Artist Jilly Johnson said it was a privilege to take part in the exhibitions

Children from various youth groups and schools have painted their own self-portraits to be displayed alongside the new artwork.

Missing Women is led by Creative Youth Opportunities, the Auckland Project and Bishop Auckland Town Hall and has been funded by Arts Council England, County Durham Community Foundation and Art Fund.