Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

The inscription under the painter's painting reads in Latin: "Bartus Murillo seipsum depingens pro filiorum votis acprecibus explendis", which means "...painting himself at the request of his beloved children".

Although the appearance of the painter is that of a relatively young man, it is believed that the work was painted when the artist was already over 50 years old, a time when his children were old enough to be proud of their father's work.

The composition follows the same pattern as the engravings on the frontispieces of books of the time: the protagonist framed in an oval and beneath it the instruments and tools of his trade: pencils and paper on his left and a palette with brushes on the right.

Justa and Rufina are two saints, daughters of a potter, born in the 3rd century in the current territory of Seville, then governed by the Romans. They were martyrs.

In the work, Saint Justa is depicted on the right and Rufina, 2 years younger, on the left. The canvas shows clay pots on the ground, alluding to the family business. The bell tower of Seville, now the Giralda of the Cathedral, is depicted because they are credited with the miracle of keeping it standing during the earthquake of 1504. Also, each holds palms in their hands, indicating their death by martyrdom, which occurred because they refused to acknowledge the Roman gods.

Murillo often portrayed children, doing so with children of all types: Saints in their earliest ages, little angels in religious allegories, and children in genre scenes, as is the case here.

This is one of the artist's most well-known non-religious works, where elements of the Baroque style are notably present, especially in terms of light treatment, chiaroscuro of the composition, where the child appears illuminated in a dark or very gloomy environment.

The two children are John the Baptist and Jesus, with Jesus giving John water to drink from a shell. Although the scene is not biblical, it is a perfectly plausible situation, as both were cousins and close during their childhood.

This is one of the painter's most recognizable works, combining elements in which the artist was most proficient: painting of children and the Baroque style. Thus, he achieved a beautiful and balanced composition that has been reproduced countless times on all kinds of media including prints, t-shirts, and other fashionable and decorative objects.

The work depicts Saint Jerome, who in the 5th century was one of the world's greatest scholars of Hebrew, Latin, and Greek languages. He translated a significant part of the Bible into Latin on the commission of Pope Damasus I. Therefore, the traditional way of representing this Saint is always writing or reading, another of the most famous paintings with this motif is Saint Jerome Writing by Caravaggio.

This work depicts the death of the Apostle Andrew, considered one of the fathers of both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The martyrdom took place in the Greek city of Patras, where he was ordered to be crucified (in the form of an X) by the Roman consular delegate Aegeates, who not only witnessed Saint Andrew's preaching and the subsequent Christian conversions but also had his own wife declare herself a Christian, a fact he could not tolerate. He ordered Andrew to be arrested, whipped, and crucified.

The painting was created during Murillo's most advanced artistic phase, in fact, it was completed in the year of his death. This period is characterized by figures that are very diffused and more colorful, resembling some techniques developed in the Renaissance such as sfumato, and others that would take centuries to develop, like the blurring techniques of Impressionism.

The artist's predilection for these little ones has to do with losing between 3 and 5 children to illness and that at that time poverty and disease ravaged much of Sevillian society. With the same theme, he portrayed children like this one, scamps and rogues, examples are the titles: "Young Beggar", "Children Eating Grapes and Melon".

This work focuses on the reaction of the magi to the newborn, rather than on the classical and biblical description of the story. They show joy and devotion, reinforcing the solemnity of the moment when the Virgin Mary simply presents the child to them. The moment when the Magi visit the Messiah has been widely treated by various artists of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, one of the most famous versions being "Adoration of the Magi" by Velázquez.

Although the biblical passage is brief, Christian oral tradition has embellished the event with all kinds of details, many of which are reflected in the work. In the upper left, the Star of Bethlehem is visible, the attire of the magi reinforces the universal character of the religion: each one represents a stage of man's life: youth, maturity, and old age; and a different geographic origin (from the 3 continents known at that time): Asia, Africa, and Europe.

This version of Christ with the crown of thorns is considered the artist's best accomplishment, among several versions of the same title he created. The most notable ones are in the Prado (see) and in the Museum of Cádiz (see).

One of Murillo's most acute skills was his ability to capture emotions and feelings in the faces he painted, which is generously achieved in this portrait.

Currently, this version of Ecce Homo cannot be seen in any museum as it was acquired by a private collector in 2017, who paid nearly 3 million pounds at a Sotheby's auction.

This is a genre scene, quite atypical for the time and for the painter. It presents 4 characters, of which the young woman standing in the center of the canvas is the most prominent in the composition. Her half-smile, cheek contraction, and semi-closed eye are believed to signify in this context and time that the girl was single and available. From there, it's inferred that the older woman is the protector of the three children, and especially responsible for finding a husband for the girl.

The boy on the left and the one lying down confirm the picaresque character, one by the expression on his face and the other by the tear in his pants.

This genre scene is one of the artist's most famous, featuring typical characteristics of the Baroque style.

It shows 2 well-lit street urchins against a dark background, in action and movement. Both the gazes and the main lines of the composition are diagonal, the detail and realism of the figures are so high that even the grapes on the ground could be a still life of the finest quality. Light enters from the upper left, creating dense shadows towards the opposite corner (chiaroscuro).

This canvas belongs to the artist's earliest artistic period and was created to decorate the Church and Hospital of Charity in Seville (see on Wikipedia), a hospice established to shelter the most destitute. The father, as a figure of God, receives his son who was lost and now returns. The little dog signifies that the scene is intended to be entirely earthly and not mythological.

This biblical passage has often been painted, and this version is considered one of the best of the period, as it exquisitely captures the facial and bodily expressions of the characters. The composition in terms of color, lighting, and background is reminiscent of works by Titian.

Another famous painting of the same theme is this well-known version by Rembrandt, which features a pronounced Baroque style of the Flemish school.

It depicts the moment Jesus resurrects and emerges from the tomb while the guards stationed to guard the entrance have fallen asleep. In his hand is the flag of salvation, signifying triumph over death and his call for conversion to both Jews and Gentiles.

This masterpiece features chiaroscuro where the light is directed from the back of the painting towards the viewer, shining brightest right at Jesus's head. He is seen holding the burial shrouds, extending his hand, and looking up towards the father. In the lower part, in shadow, three Roman soldiers sleep on the ground.

Murillo was an expert at giving his works a halo of charm, nostalgia, and mischief, and this work is a great example. It presents two young women looking through the window, with one of them, completely illuminated in the center, looking at the viewer with an enigmatic and calm smile. Behind her, in half-light, the other young woman covers her eager laughter with a handkerchief. Their attire, typical Spanish of the time, indicates a higher middle-class stratum.

The dimensions of the characters are life-sized, intentionally done so that the painting has more impact as it resembles an actual window with the girls looking out. This pictorial device is commonly found in the Flemish school of the 17th century, for example, in works by Jan van Eyck, Rembrandt, or Rubens.

Saint Thomas of Villanueva (1486-1555) was a Spanish Augustinian friar, canonized in 1658, known for his sensitivity towards the poor. Here he is shown at his youngest age distributing among poor children the clothes he was wearing.

In this work, the artist's growing tendency to use the "misty style", which involves blurring the contours of the figures, presenting them with a slight appearance of transparency, but without losing realism, begins to be appreciated.