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Murillo fell from a scaffold in Cadiz and died a few months later. He was sixty-four, working on a fresco at the church of the Capuchines, and the fall ended both the painting and his life. His burial in the Church of Santa Cruz in Seville did not survive either: the French demolished the church during the Peninsular War, and his remains were lost.

Biography
He was born in Seville in late 1617, the youngest of fourteen children. His father was a barber surgeon. Both parents died before he was eleven, and he was raised by an older sister and her husband, also a barber. He studied in the workshop of Juan del Castillo, his uncle and godfather, and absorbed the realism of Zurbaran and Ribera. In 1645 he received his first major commission: eleven canvases for the convent of San Francisco in Seville. The success was decisive.
Seville became his entire world. He rarely left. In 1660 he co-founded and became first president of the city's Academy of Painting. His religious paintings, particularly his Immaculate Conceptions, were reproduced and imitated across the Catholic world for the next two centuries. He also painted contemporary street life: flower girls, beggars, street urchins, recorded with an affectionate realism that constitutes a documentary record of seventeenth-century Andalusia.
For two hundred years after his death he was considered one of the greatest painters who ever lived, ranked alongside Raphael and Titian. Then opinion turned. By the late nineteenth century his religious canvases were dismissed as sentimental and treacly, and he was nearly written out of art history altogether. The reassessment continues; the sentimentality charge has not entirely lifted.
Timeline
- 1646Painted "Saint Didacus of Alcalá in ecstasy before the cross" aged 29.
- 1646Painted "The Blessed Giles Levitating before Pope Gregory IX" aged 29.
- 1659Painted "Portrait Of Inigo Melchor Fernández de Velasco" aged 42.
- 1660Painted "Angel holding the lantern and the sword that was used to cut the ear of Malchus" aged 43.
- 1665Painted "The Story of the Foundation of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome: The Patrician Reveals his Dream to the Pope" aged 48.
- 1665Painted "The Story of the Foundation of Santa Maria Maggiore: The Patrician's Dream" aged 48.
Notable Works
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Where to See Bartolome Esteban Murillo
5 museums worldwide.
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1 worksBeecroft Art Gallery
Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom
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1 works
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council
Halifax, United Kingdom
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1 worksMusée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux
Bordeaux, France
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1 worksMusei di Strada Nuova
Genoa, Italy
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1 worksPaisley Museum
Paisley, United Kingdom
Bartolome Esteban Murillo prints
Hand-finished archival prints from Bartolome Esteban Murillo's body of work.
The Virgin of the Rosary - Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
From £28.00
The Madonna and Child - Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
From £28.00
The Crucifixion - Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
From £28.00
The Virgin and Child - Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
From £28.00
The Annunciation - Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
From £37.00
Laban Searching for his Stolen Household Gods - Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
From £28.00
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See all Bartolome Esteban Murillo prints →Frequently Asked Questions
Bartolomé esteban murillo art style?
Murillo absorbed the realism of Zurbaran and Ribera. His brushwork had a softness and his colouring was delicate, yet rich.Bartolomé esteban murillo famous paintings?
Saint John the Baptist as a Child, Saint Thomas of Villanueva Dividing His Clothes Among Beggar Boys, and Saint Francis Embracing the Crucified Christ are among Bartolomé Esteban Murillo's paintings. He also painted Adoration of the Shepherds.What is Bartolome Esteban Murillo's most famous work?
Murillo, a leading figure among 17th-century Sevillian artists, is celebrated for his gentle, religious works and his captivating depictions of everyday life. Identifying a single "most famous work" is challenging, as his popularity rests on both his religious paintings and his genre scenes. His religious paintings, such as *The Descent of the Virgin Mary to Reward St. Ildephonsus with a Chasuble* (circa 1650) and numerous versions of *Madonna and Child* (circa 1650-1672), gained wide appeal for their sweetness and devotional character. These works mark a shift in religious art, offering divine figures with immediate popular appeal. Murillo also achieved fame for his scenes of children and everyday life. *Children Eating Fruit* (circa 1670), *Two Women at a Window* (circa 1670), and paintings of young beggars demonstrate his capacity to depict the world around him. These paintings, aimed at aristocratic collectors, present scenes with delightful detail and excellent workmanship.What should I know about Bartolome Esteban Murillo's prints?
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1618-1682) was a leading figure among the second generation of artists from Seville. After training in his hometown, where he was noted for his precocious talent, he established his own studio in 1649. A few years later, he began to receive commissions from the city's religious orders. Many of his cycles of paintings have since been dispersed and are now held in museums worldwide. Murillo's early works feature intense images of children playing, young beggars, and street urchins. While the influence of Ribera is evident, so is a taste for action, for genre scenes, and for descriptive detail. By 1650, the contrast between the essential, austere paintings of Zurbaran and those of the younger, dynamic Murillo was already evident. In 1660, Murillo opened an academy of fine arts in Seville. The activity of imitators and copyists, combined with what practically amounted to the mass production of devotional images, sometimes of inferior quality, led to a decline in his reputation for a certain period.What style or movement did Bartolome Esteban Murillo belong to?
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, born in Seville in 1618, belonged to the Baroque movement. He is known for gentle, religious compositions, though his work and career were complex. Murillo trained in his home town and established his own studio in 1649. He gained commissions from religious orders in Seville. Many of these cycles of paintings are now dispersed in museums across the world. His early works featured intense images of children playing, young beggars, and street urchins. By 1650, the contrast between the essential paintings of Zurbaran and those of the younger, more dynamic Murillo was evident. After studying in Madrid, Murillo introduced greater freedom and monumentality into his work. Beautiful female saints, impassioned Virgins, and enchanting angels appeared with increasing frequency. Murillo opened an academy of fine arts in Seville in 1660. Murillo’s style is more tender compared with the harsh realism of his Spanish contemporaries, Jusepe Ribera and Francisco de Zurbaran. His style has been described as reminiscent of Correggio, the sixteenth-century Italian artist.What techniques or materials did Bartolome Esteban Murillo use?
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was a versatile artist, known for his depictions of everyday life and religious scenes. His work is often divided into three styles: the cool (frio), the warm (calido), and the vaporous (vaporoso). The vaporous style has been compared to Rembrandt's warm, transparent light-darkness. Murillo's versatility extended to his choice of materials. After training in his hometown, Murillo established his own studio in 1649. A few years later, he began receiving commissions from religious orders in Seville. In 1655, after a period of study in Madrid, he introduced greater freedom and monumentality into his work. He studied the works of Van Dyck, Rubens, Ribera, and Titian, which influenced his artistic development. One of the first results of Murillo’s return to Seville was a cycle of eleven pictures for the nave of the Franciscan Monastery, depicting events from the lives of famous followers of these monks and the affiliated orders of nuns.What was Bartolome Esteban Murillo known for?
Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1618-1682) was a leading figure among second-generation artists from Seville. He is known for gentle, religious works; however, his output and career were complex. Murillo's early paintings depict children playing, young beggars, and street urchins. By 1650, the contrast between the austere paintings of Zurbaran and the dynamic works of Murillo was evident. After studying in Madrid, Murillo introduced greater freedom into his work. Beautiful female saints, impassioned Virgins, and enchanting angels appeared with increasing frequency. Murillo’s paintings are divided into three styles: cool (frio), warm (calido), and vaporous (vaporoso). The ‘vaporous’ style is similar to Rembrandt’s warm, transparent light-darkness. One of the first results of Murillo’s return to Seville was a cycle of eleven pictures for the nave of the Franciscan Monastery. These works depict events from the lives of monks and nuns. These works emphasize the drive of people to connect with the heavenly world through dreams. In 1660, Murillo opened an academy of fine arts in Seville. The number of imitators and copyists, combined with the mass production of devotional images, led to a decline in his reputation for a time.When was bartolome esteban murillo born?
Bartolome Esteban Murillo was born in 1617 in Spain. Bartolome Esteban Murillo died in 1682, aged 65.Where can I see Bartolome Esteban Murillo's work?
Murillo's paintings can be found in several major museums and religious buildings across Europe and North America. In Spain, the Museo del Prado in Madrid holds a significant collection, including *Saint John the Baptist as a Child*, *Martyrdom of Saint Andrew*, *Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables*, *Portrait of Nicolas Omazur*, *Adoration of the Shepherds*, *Immaculate Conception of El Escorial*, *The Patrician Relating His Dream to Pope Liberius*, and *Charles II*. Seville is another important location; the Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes has *Saint Francis Embracing the Crucified Christ*, *Adoration of the Shepherds*, *Saint Thomas of Villanueva Distributing Alms*, and *Immaculate Conception of the Franciscans*. The Hospital de la Caridad in Seville houses *Moses Before the Rock of Horeb*, and the Seville Cathedral contains *Vision of Saint Anthony of Padua*. Elsewhere in Europe, the National Gallery in London possesses *Healing of the Paralytic*, *Self-Portrait*, and *Portrait of Don Justino de Neve*. The Musée du Louvre in Paris has *Boy Killing Fleas*, *Angel Kitchen*, *Foundation of the Trinitarian Order*, and *Birth of the Virgin*. Munich's Alte Pinakothek features *Boys Eating Grapes and Melon*, *Boys Playing Dice*, and *St. Thomas of Villanova and the Pauper*. In the United States, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., displays *Two Women at a Window*. The Cincinnati Art Museum has *Saint Thomas of Villanueva Dividing His Clothes Among Beggar Boys*, while the Detroit Institute of Arts holds *Flight into Egypt*. The Meadows Museum in Dallas exhibits *Jacob Laying the Peeled Rods Before Laban's Flock* and *Saint Rufina*. The Krannert Art Museum in Champaign, Illinois, has *Christ After the Flagellation*.Where is bartolome esteban murillo from?
Bartolome Esteban Murillo was Spain, born in 1617 and died in 1682.Where was Bartolome Esteban Murillo from?
Bartolome Esteban Murillo was from Seville, in Spain. Born in 1618, he belonged to a family with ties to both barber-surgeons and silversmiths. His parents died when he was nine years old, and his older sister Ana raised him. Murillo trained as a painter in his home town. His teacher, Juan del Castillo, was related to his mother. He was aware of the work of other Sevillian artists, such as Diego Velázquez and Francisco de Zurbarán. He also knew the work of Rembrandt, which was collected in Spain at the time. Murillo established his own studio in 1639. A few years later, religious orders in Seville began to commission works from him. In 1660, he opened an academy of fine arts in Seville. He died there in 1682.Who did Bartolome Esteban Murillo influence?
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, a leading figure among the second generation of Sevillian artists, had many copyists and imitators, though no outstanding pupil. His work was much in demand throughout Europe and was widely copied well into the nineteenth century. In 1660, Murillo opened an academy of fine arts in Seville; the activity of imitators and copyists, combined with what practically amounted to the mass production of devotional images, sometimes of inferior quality, led to a decline in his reputation for a certain period. Murillo's style is more tender and sentimental than his Spanish contemporaries, Jusepe Ribera and Francisco de Zurbarán. His balance between realism and idealisation, the subtlety of his expressive language, and the descriptive power of his technique were never again attained in Sevillian painting. Francisco Meneses Osorio (c. 1630-c. 1705) was Murillo's pupil and assistant.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Bartolome Esteban Murillo.
- [1] academic Bartolome Esteban Murillo | Biography, Art, Paintings, & Facts Used for: biography.
- [2] academic Bartolomé Esteban Murillo - Smarthistory Used for: biography.
- [3] academic Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban | Grove Art Used for: biography.
- [4] book Zuffi, Stefano, 1961-, Baroque painting : two centuries of masterpieces from the era preceding the dawn modern art Used for: biography.
- [5] book Beard, Lee, 1973- author, Butler, Adam, author; Van Cleave, Claire, author; Fortenberry, Diane, author; Stirling, Susan, author, Beard, Lee, 1973- author, Butler, Adam, author; Van Cleave, Claire, author; Fortenberry, Diane, author; Stirling, Susan, author - The Art Book_ New Edition, Mini Format Used for: biography.
- [6] book Beckett, Wendy, The story of painting Used for: biography.
- [7] museum Bartolomé Esteban Murillo | National Gallery of Art Used for: biography.
- [8] museum Bartolomé Estebán Murillo - Virgin and Child - The Metropolitan Museum of Art Used for: museum holdings.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-06-28. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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