Murillo: The Self-Portraits

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the birth of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. While the majority of his artistic production was for religious institutions, he also created allegorical and genre scenes. Murillo’s paintings of urchins in the streets of Seville are particularly well known and, together with his religious images, they remain the artist’s signature works. Less familiar are a number of portraits, that Murillo painted of his patrons and friends. Only about 15 portraits by or attributed to him have survived – five of these are included in the exhibition. Significantly, the painter’s only known self-portraits will be shown together for the first time since they were documented in the 1709 inventory of his son Gaspar’s art collection. Find out more about the ‘Murillo: The Self-Portraits’ exhibition from the Frick Collection’s website.

Preview the exhibition below | See Apollo’s Picks of the Week here

Two Women at a Window (c. 1655–60), Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

A Peasant Boy Leaning on a Sill (c. 1675), Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. © The National Gallery, London

Self-Portrait (c. 1670), Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. © The National Gallery, London

Juan Arias de Saavedra (1650), Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Collection Duchess of Cardona

Self-Portrait (c. 1650–55), Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. © The Frick Collection