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THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE VIRGIN
By MURILLO (1618-1682)
IN THE LOUVRE, PARIS
This picture is the more amazing when one considers the sublimity of the subject, the difficulty of giving expression to such a thought, and the genius with which the artist has revealed his idea through the medium of his brush. Murillo has given the world by means of this canvas a picture poem that we may rank with Milton's" Paradise Lost." Where one false step would lead him to blasphemy or to bathos, he has maintained the dignity and splendour of the subject unimpaired. The holy rapture of the Virgin, the joy of motherhood, and the divinity of the occasion are wonderfully expressed, and nowhere does his genius betray him into belittling the inspiring majesty of the theme.
Murillo's career was typical of a painter's life at that time, when the Church was the great patron of Art, and the artist required to rely upon its support unless, like Velazquez, the same aid was forthcoming from the Royal Court. He was born in Seville of humble parents, and his first essays in art took the form of rough religious pictures for the fairs of his town and for exportation to South America. He was fortunate enough to secure the patronage of Velazquez, through whose influence he was enabled to study the masterpieces in the royal collections.
Soon after, he painted eleven pictures for the convent of San Francisco, at Seville, which made him the most prominent painter of the town. A year or two later he married a lady of fortune, and ere long he settled down to his period of maturity in which his most splendid works were produced.
The Immaculate Conception was a favourite subject with him, and invariably he treated it in the same manner. The present example was originally in the collection of Marshal Soult, and after being purchased originally for 250 pounds was finally acquired for the French nation for 24,000 pounds,
From the book "Famous Paintings" Volume 2 printed in 1913.
Mike McCain has provided more information about Murillo's work which you may find interesting.
Large files of this public domain print are available at Stock Photos at Songs of Praise
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Online "Name the Painting"
Bartolome Esteban Murillo
paintings at Olga's Gallery (2 pages)
Murillo Biography
at Olga's Gallery
Murillo
at Web Museum, Paris
Murillo Biography and Prints
(Spanish version)
Bartolome Esteban Murillo
view by time period at Web Gallery of Art
Bartolome Esteban Murillo
Catholic Encyclopedia
Famous Paintings in this Series
