Bartolomé Esteban Murillo: Spanish Baroque painter honoured with Google Doodle

Google Doodle is honouring the famous Spanish painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo who is believed to have painted over 400 works for Flemish merchants, convents and cathedrals, among others. On November 29, 2018, Google has marked the 400 years since his birth with a Google Doodle.

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was born in late December 1617 and was baptized on January 1, 1618. His name is inscribed in the pages of history as a globally renowned Spanish Baroque (the painting associated with the Baroque cultural movement) painter who had produced a significant number of paintings of contemporary women and children.

Under the tutelage of another famous Spanish Baroque painter, Juan del Castillo, Murillo commenced his studies on art and painting in Seville. Castillo as a relative of his mother. Murillo hailed from a painter family as one of his uncles named Antonio Pérez was also a painter. In his first few works, he took inspirations from other then-contemporary Spanish painters like Alonzo Cano, Zurbarán and Jusepe de Ribera.

Some of Murillo's globally renowned selected works are 'The Young Beggar,' 'Boys Eating Grapes and Melon,' 'St. Peter in Tears,' 'Joseph and Potiphar's Wife,' 'Annunciation,' 'Adoration of the Magi,' 'The Virgin of the Rosary,' 'Apparition of the Virgin to St. Ildefonsus,' 'The Marriage Feast at Cana' to name a few. The creative imitation of his works ensured the level of fame and reputation he acquired during his lifetime throughout Europe. Even after over 150 years of his death (on April 3, 1682, at the age of 64), his works got comparatively higher widespread acceptance than any other Spanish artist prior to the 19^th century. French painter Jean-Baptiste Greuze and English landscape painter Thomas Gainsborough were highly influenced by Murillo's style in painting.

In honour of his 400th anniversary, a series of major exhibitions celebrating Bartolomé Esteban Murillo's work is opening at Seville's Museum of Fine Arts, bringing home the artist's work from renowned collections all over the world. Guided tours, concerts, and other cultural activities combine to make this the "Year of Murillo."