Biographies

Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1617 – 1682) Born in Seville, where he spent the majority of his life, he studied first with a local artist, Juan del Castillo, and would have been familiar with the Venetian and Flemish paintings that could be seen in both ecclesiastical buildings and a handful of aristocratic collections. His artistic education proceeded with only limited exposure to concurrent artistic developements but, nonetheless, his extraordinary facility with the brush and technical skills brought him considerable success. His painting was very popular in the late Victorian period but was seen as too sentimental during the modernist era. He is back in favor again in the early 21st century.