Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was a leading Spanish Baroque painter, born in Seville. He is best known for his gentle, luminous style and warm humanism. Murillo often painted religious scenes, especially tender images of the Virgin Mary and the Immaculate Conception, using soft light, rich yet harmonious colors, and smooth brushwork.
Alongside sacred subjects, he also depicted everyday life in Seville, portraying poor children and street scenes with empathy and realism. His ability to combine spiritual idealism with natural emotion made his work widely admired in Spain and across Europe, and he remains one of the most beloved artists of the Spanish Golden Age.
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s most important and widely recognized masterpiece is generally considered to be: