Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

BARTOLOMÉ ESTEBAN MURILLO (Seville, 1617 - 1682).
"Saint".
Oil on canvas. Relined in the twentieth century.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 40,5 x 32 cm; 53 x 44 cm (frame).

In this intimate scene, the artist resorts to the theatricality of the baroque, enhanced by a completely artificial and directed light that enhances the relevance of the protagonist. The lighting focuses especially on the face, leaving the rest of the room in semi-darkness. In the center of the scene, as usual, the protagonist looks at the viewer while holding in one hand a pen that he has just taken out of the inkwell and in the other a text that simulates the shape of the tablets of Moses. These attributes indicate the relevance of the character, who directs a complicit gaze at the viewer. Aesthetically, the scene recalls to a great extent, due to the composition and lighting, the painting of Saint Thomas Aquinas by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.

Little is known about Murillo's childhood and youth, except that he was orphaned of his father in 1627 and of his mother in 1628, which led him to be tutored by his brother-in-law. Around 1635 he must have begun his apprenticeship as a painter, very possibly with Juan del Castillo, who was married to a cousin of his. This working and artistic relationship would last about six years, as was customary at the time. After his marriage, in 1645, he began what was to be a brilliant career that progressively made him the most famous and sought-after painter in Seville.

The only recorded trip occurred in 1658, when Murillo was in Madrid for several months. It is believed that, at court, he maintained contact with resident painters such as Velázquez, Zurbarán and Cano, and that he had access to the collection of paintings in the Royal Palace, a magnificent subject of study for artists passing through the court. Although documentary references about his mature years are scarce, it is known that he enjoyed an affluent life, which allowed him to maintain a high standard of living and to have several apprentices.

Becoming the first painter of Seville, surpassing in fame even Zurbarán, drove his will to raise the artistic level of local painting. Therefore, in 1660, he decided to found a painting academy together with Francisco Herrera el Mozo, of which he was the main promoter. His fame spread throughout the national territory, and Palomino points out that around 1670 King Charles II offered him to move to Madrid to work as a court painter. Although there is no certainty about this statement, it is certain that Murillo remained in Seville until the end of his life.

Currently, his works are kept in the most important art galleries in the world, such as the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Kunsthistorisches in Vienna, the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan in New York and the National Gallery in London.