St. Peter

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo prints bring the warmth and tenderness of the Spanish Baroque into your home. Murillo was the leading painter of seventeenth-century Seville, loved for his gentle Madonnas and glowing Immaculate Conceptions, and for his lively pictures of street children, flower girls and beggars. Our collection of fine art prints includes his religious paintings, genre scenes, portraits and drawings.

About Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was born in Seville, or possibly nearby Pilas, in late December 1617, and baptised on 1 January 1618. His father was a barber-surgeon. Orphaned by 1628, he was raised by his older sister and her husband. He trained in Seville with his uncle Juan del Castillo, and his early work shows the strong realism of Francisco de Zurbarán, Jusepe de Ribera and Alonso Cano.

In 1645 he married Beatriz Cabrera y Villalobos; they had ten children. The same year he painted The Young Beggar, the first of his many pictures of children, showing the influence of Velázquez. Major commissions for Seville Cathedral and the city's convents followed, and he became famous for his paintings of the Virgin and Child and the Immaculate Conception.

In 1660 he helped found Seville's Academy of Fine Arts, sharing its direction with the architect Francisco Herrera the Younger. In 1682, while working on paintings for the Capuchin church in Cádiz, he fell from a scaffold, and he died a few months later, on 3 April 1682.

Style and Subjects

Murillo's early style is realistic, with strong light and shadow. In his mature work the colours become warm and glowing and the forms soft, with a hazy, golden atmosphere that made his religious pictures widely loved.

His Madonnas and Immaculate Conceptions float in clouds surrounded by cherubs. His genre scenes show the street children of Seville eating fruit, playing dice or delousing themselves, painted with affection, humour and great naturalism.

Famous Works

• The Young Beggar (about 1645–1650), Musée du Louvre, Paris. A ragged boy in a sunlit corner, his first painting of children.
• Virgin and Child with a Rosary (about 1650), Museo del Prado, Madrid. A tender Madonna holding the Christ Child.
• Grape and Melon Eaters (about 1650), Alte Pinakothek, Munich. Two street boys enjoying fruit, one of his best-loved genre scenes.
• Two Women at a Window (about 1655–1660), National Gallery of Art, Washington. A young woman and her companion smiling from a window.
• The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables (about 1660–1665), Museo del Prado, Madrid. The Virgin rising among cherubs, his most famous Immaculate Conception.
• The Good Shepherd (about 1660), Museo del Prado, Madrid. The Christ Child as a shepherd boy with a lamb.
• The Flower Girl (about 1665–1670), Dulwich Picture Gallery, London. A smiling girl offering roses from her shawl.

Decorating with Murillo Prints

Murillo's warm, gentle religious paintings suit bedrooms, nurseries, hallways and quiet sitting rooms. A Madonna or The Good Shepherd looks beautiful in a gilt frame against cream or warm-toned walls.

His street children and flower girls bring a lively, human touch to kitchens and dining rooms; The Flower Girl and the melon eater make a charming pair.

FAQ

Who was Bartolomé Esteban Murillo?

Murillo was a Spanish Baroque painter who lived from 1617 to 1682. He was the leading painter of Seville and is best known for his religious works and pictures of street children.

What is Murillo's most famous painting?

The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables in the Prado is among his most famous works, along with his genre scenes such as Grape and Melon Eaters.

Why did Murillo paint street children?

Alongside religious works he made many lively, realistic pictures of flower girls, street urchins and beggars, recording everyday life in Seville.

How did Murillo die?

He fell from a scaffold while working on paintings for the Capuchin church in Cádiz and died a few months later, in April 1682.

Where can I see Murillo's paintings?

Major works are in the Prado in Madrid, the Museo de Bellas Artes in Seville, the Louvre, the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, the National Gallery in London and the Dulwich Picture Gallery.

Related Artists

• Francisco de Zurbarán: Seville painter who influenced his early work
• Jusepe de Ribera: Spanish realist who influenced his early style
• Alonso Cano: Spanish painter who influenced his early work
• Diego Velázquez: fellow Sevillian whose influence shows in The Young Beggar