(Seville, 1617 - Cádiz, 1682)
Bartolomé Esteban Pérez Murillo was a great master of Spanish Baroque painting. He was the son of a barber-surgeon named Gaspar Esteban and María Pérez Murillo, from whom he took his surname to sign his works. Despite enjoying a good family economic situation, he became an orphan at the age of nine when his father died, and lost his mother the following year.
There is no exact date confirming when Bartolomé Esteban Murillo began his apprenticeship in painting, although it seems to indicate that it was in 1633, shortly after his trip to the Indies. Thus, at almost sixteen years old, Murillo entered the workshop of the painter Juan del Castillo, where he remained until 1638, when it seems that Castillo moved to Granada. Murillo chose Castillo as his master because they shared certain family ties.
Murillo established a friendship with the painter Velázquez, who cordially invited him to reside in his house and facilitated visits to the painting collections of the Royal Palace, Buen Retiro, and El Escorial. Likewise, Murillo asked Velázquez for letters that would help him on a trip to Italy that he intended to undertake but never did.
In 1644, Murillo was received as a brother in the Brotherhood of the Rosary of the Church of Magdalena in Seville. A year later, Bartolomé Murillo painted thirteen canvases for the cloister of San Francisco el Grande in Seville, which earned him justified renown. Also in 1645, a new era opened in Murillo's family life. On February 26, having turned twenty-seven, he married Doña Beatriz Cabrera y Villalobos in the same church of Magdalena where he was baptized. With her, he had nine children, four of whom died during the plague epidemic that struck Seville in 1649. Following a couple of paintings he completed for the Cathedral of Seville, Murillo began to specialize in the two themes that would bring him the most fame: the Virgin Mary with children and the Immaculates.
Murillo and his family moved to the parish of San Bartolomé in 1663, where they spent almost two decades. By this time, Murillo was already the leading painter in Seville, so in addition to his fame multiplying, his income also increased, especially thanks to ecclesiastical clientele. During these years, Murillo established the Academy of Painting in Seville, where painters, sculptors, and decorators from Seville perfected their skills. The first two presidents of the Academy were Francisco Herrera the Younger and Murillo. However, both left the position shortly after. Murillo also remained in the Brotherhood of San Lucas, which welcomed Seville's painters in its chapel in the church of San Andrés.
In 1663, Murillo's wife, Beatriz Cabrera, died during her last childbirth. From this moment on, Murillo lived in the parish of San Bartolomé. During these years, Bartolomé undertook various works.
In the 1670s, he began work related to the canonization ceremonies of Fernando III, and it is said that his fame had reached the Court and that Carlos II asked him to move to Madrid, to which he replied that he was already too old for that.
In 1680, he left this parish to go to that of Santa Cruz, where he remained until the end of his days, for while painting the altarpiece of the Capuchins in Cádiz, he fell, and days later, on April 3, 1682, Murillo died from the impact.
As for the style of the Spanish Baroque painter, in his early works he employed a uniform light, hardly resorting to contrasts. In the 1640s, this style changed as he worked in the cloister of San Francisco and showed a marked tenebrist accent, influenced by Zurbarán and Ribera. This style remained until 1655, when Murillo adopted the working method of Herrera el Mozo, characterized by his transparencies and play of backlighting, taken from Van Dyck, Rubens, and the Venetian school. A significant feature of this period is the use of subtle light gradations with which he creates a sensational aerial perspective, accompanied by the use of transparent tones and radiant luminous effects. The period in which Murillo reached the peak of success was during Romanticism, when numerous copies were made and sold to foreigners visiting Spain.
Some of the most important works of Murillo are: Fruit Sellers, Women at the Window, Two Children Eating Melon and Grapes, and The Virgin of the Rosary with the Child.
Bartolomé Esteban Pérez Murillo was a great master of Spanish Baroque painting. He was the son of a barber-surgeon named Gaspar Esteban and María Pérez Murillo, from whom he took his surname to sign his works. Despite enjoying a good family economic situation, he became an orphan at the age of nine when his father died, and lost his mother the following year.
There is no exact date confirming when Bartolomé Esteban Murillo began his apprenticeship in painting, although it seems to indicate that it was in 1633, shortly after his trip to the Indies. Thus, at almost sixteen years old, Murillo entered the workshop of the painter Juan del Castillo, where he remained until 1638, when it seems that Castillo moved to Granada. Murillo chose Castillo as his master because they shared certain family ties.
Murillo established a friendship with the painter Velázquez, who cordially invited him to reside in his house and facilitated visits to the painting collections of the Royal Palace, Buen Retiro, and El Escorial. Likewise, Murillo asked Velázquez for letters that would help him on a trip to Italy that he intended to undertake but never did.
In 1644, Murillo was received as a brother in the Brotherhood of the Rosary of the Church of Magdalena in Seville. A year later, Bartolomé Murillo painted thirteen canvases for the cloister of San Francisco el Grande in Seville, which earned him justified renown. Also in 1645, a new era opened in Murillo's family life. On February 26, having turned twenty-seven, he married Doña Beatriz Cabrera y Villalobos in the same church of Magdalena where he was baptized. With her, he had nine children, four of whom died during the plague epidemic that struck Seville in 1649. Following a couple of paintings he completed for the Cathedral of Seville, Murillo began to specialize in the two themes that would bring him the most fame: the Virgin Mary with children and the Immaculates.
Murillo and his family moved to the parish of San Bartolomé in 1663, where they spent almost two decades. By this time, Murillo was already the leading painter in Seville, so in addition to his fame multiplying, his income also increased, especially thanks to ecclesiastical clientele. During these years, Murillo established the Academy of Painting in Seville, where painters, sculptors, and decorators from Seville perfected their skills. The first two presidents of the Academy were Francisco Herrera the Younger and Murillo. However, both left the position shortly after. Murillo also remained in the Brotherhood of San Lucas, which welcomed Seville's painters in its chapel in the church of San Andrés.
In 1663, Murillo's wife, Beatriz Cabrera, died during her last childbirth. From this moment on, Murillo lived in the parish of San Bartolomé. During these years, Bartolomé undertook various works.
In the 1670s, he began work related to the canonization ceremonies of Fernando III, and it is said that his fame had reached the Court and that Carlos II asked him to move to Madrid, to which he replied that he was already too old for that.
In 1680, he left this parish to go to that of Santa Cruz, where he remained until the end of his days, for while painting the altarpiece of the Capuchins in Cádiz, he fell, and days later, on April 3, 1682, Murillo died from the impact.
As for the style of the Spanish Baroque painter, in his early works he employed a uniform light, hardly resorting to contrasts. In the 1640s, this style changed as he worked in the cloister of San Francisco and showed a marked tenebrist accent, influenced by Zurbarán and Ribera. This style remained until 1655, when Murillo adopted the working method of Herrera el Mozo, characterized by his transparencies and play of backlighting, taken from Van Dyck, Rubens, and the Venetian school. A significant feature of this period is the use of subtle light gradations with which he creates a sensational aerial perspective, accompanied by the use of transparent tones and radiant luminous effects. The period in which Murillo reached the peak of success was during Romanticism, when numerous copies were made and sold to foreigners visiting Spain.
Some of the most important works of Murillo are: Fruit Sellers, Women at the Window, Two Children Eating Melon and Grapes, and The Virgin of the Rosary with the Child.
