Biography of bartolome esteban murillo

Biographical notes Spanish painter. Slavery connections Murillo sold one enslaved assistant, Juan de Santiago, in Abolition connections No known connections with abolition. Bibliography History of Parliament Trust ed. The likes of the National Gallery in the UK as well as the Frick Collection have worked hard to restore some of his paintings and to present a thorough summary of them to the public in recent years, ensuring his legacy continues today.

Summary of the Artist's Life The artist was born in late , though the precise date has never been determined. The first record of the artist's life was from his baptism in Seville on the 1st of January, As was the way during the 17th century, Murillo had many siblings, though most would not survive childhood. He is believed to have either been born in Seville itself, or perhaps the town of Pilas which is located fairly close by.

Sadly his own parents would also pass away whilst he was around ten years old and from then on he would fall under the guidance of other family members, some of whom were artists. At that point he was working predominantly within the Realism art movement but was also looking to discover alternative styles. He would then start to come across Flemish and Italian art and also learnt more about which approaches would prove most popular with local patrons.

He would then spend his time between Madrid and his native Seville, discovering other artists who introduced further development into his career, including the world famous Diego Velazquez. He would marry Beatriz Cabrera y Villalobos and have eleven children in total. He would continue to share his time between Madrid and Seville, though his base was always the latter.

His next few decades were filled with productivity and several masterpieces as he refined his own approach. Eventually he would set up an academy within his native Seville, perhaps hoping to leave some sort of legacy as he started to plan for later life. Sadly an accident in the s would injure him severely and he would pass away shortly afterwards.

By that point, though, he had established himself as both popular but also highly respected for his technical expertise and the innovations that he brought to Spanish art. Read further detail in our Murillo biography. Although his work can be considered particularly unique, there are influences to be found from both national and international artists.

He was fortunate in being able to see some master artworks whilst growing up in Seville and his travels to Madrid and Cadiz would expose him to further great names from the near and distant past. Flemish art would then provide an additional layer of inspiration, thanks to the likes of North European masters like Rembrandt , Anthony van Dyck and Peter Paul Rubens.

He would work on it until The series portrays stories of saints of the Franciscan order and includes The Angels' Kitchen, the most celebrated work of the group for its attention to detail and realism. Naturalism and chiaroscuro are prevalent throughout this work. Beginning in , and due to the impact of the plague, Murillo receives no new commissions of magnitude.

Biography of bartolome esteban murillo

Consequently, he works on painting some of his most popular works, looking to express sacred themes naturally and with compassion. He paints several versions of the Virgin and Child. He also produces secular paintings during this time. Therefore, the demand for religious works came not only from the church for temples and convents, but also from private clients.

It also explains the assortment of copies leaving the studio, as occurred with the half-length portrait of St. Catherine of Alexandria. In —18, the two museums held an exhibition of them. Eleven years later, he was named the executor of Lagares' will despite his sister having already died. In , at 15, Murillo received a license for passage to America with his family.

Murillo began his art studies in Seville in the workshop of Juan del Castillo , Murillo's uncle and godfather, as well a skilled painter in his own right. The great commercial importance of Seville at the time ensured that he was subject to artistic influences from other regions. As his painting developed, his more important works evolved towards the polished style that suited the bourgeois and aristocratic tastes of the time, demonstrated especially in his Roman Catholic religious works.