Spanish school of the late nineteenth century. After BARTOLOMÉ ESTEBAN MURILLO (Seville, 1617 - Cadiz, 1682).
"The children of the shell".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Precise restoration.
Period frame.
Measurements: 88 x 99 cm; 125 x 137 cm (frame).

This painting follows faithfully and with great skill the model that Murillo made around 1670, currently preserved in the Prado Museum, from the Royal Collection and represents Jesus child with San Juanito. It is one of the painter's most popular works, since it combines a theme very much to the taste of popular religiosity with a naturalistic treatment and a special mastery in the treatment of children, something characteristic of Murillo's style, who is considered one of the best painters of children in Spanish art.
Little is known about Murillo's childhood and youth, except that he was orphaned of his father in 1627 and of his mother in 1628, for which reason he was taken under the tutelage of his brother-in-law. Around 1635 he must have begun his apprenticeship as a painter, very possibly with Juan del Castillo, who was married to a cousin of his. This working and artistic relationship would last about six years, as was customary at the time. After his marriage, in 1645, he began what was to be a brilliant career that progressively made him the most famous and sought-after painter in Seville. The only recorded trip he made is documented in 1658, the year in which Murillo was in Madrid for several months. It may be thought that at the court he maintained contact with the painters who resided there, such as Velázquez, Zurbarán and Cano, and that he had access to the collection of paintings in the Royal Palace, a magnificent subject of study for all those artists who passed through the court. Despite the few documentary references regarding his mature years, we know that he enjoyed a comfortable life, which allowed him to maintain a high standard of living and several apprentices. Having become the first painter of the city, surpassing in fame even Zurbarán, moved his will to raise the artistic level of local painting. For this reason, in 1660 he decided, together with Francisco Herrera el Mozo, to found an academy of painting, of which he was the main promoter. His fame spread to such an extent, throughout the national territory, that Palomino indicates that around 1670 King Carlos II offered him the possibility of moving to Madrid to work there as a court painter. We do not know if this reference is true, but the fact is that Murillo remained in Seville until the end of his life. His works are currently preserved in the most important art galleries in the world, such as the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Kunsthistorisches in Vienna, the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan in New York or the National Gallery in London, among many others.