Oil Painting, 'The Immaculate Conception', after Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, late 17th century-early 18th century

The Virgin Mary with a glowing halo around her head, dressed in white with a blue mantle is standing on clouds supported by a retinue of angels.

Bequeathed by John Jones

Bequeathed by John Jones, 1882. Although catalogued as Murillo by Curtis (1883) and Calvert (1907), this painting has, for some time, been recognised as a copy (Long, 1923), probably from the late 17th or early 18th century.

Historical significance: This painting was originally acquired as an authentic work by Murillo but has been recognised as a copy after the master since 1923. It shows the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, a popular theme in 17th-century Spain and perhaps the one that most spread Murillo's fame.
Murillo executed many versions of the theme and the present composition may derive from the version currently housed in the Dayton Art Institute, dated 1670-1680, with fewer angels in different positions, apart from the one on the bottom left, who is trying to hold back the lower part of her mantle and looks identical in the Dayton version. Another close drawing showing the Virgin in a very similar position is in the National Gallery of Canada (No. 6551).
In these pictures, Murillo created a new formula in which the Virgin is situated in a space inhabited by light, clouds and angels, and seems carried aloft in an ethereal atmosphere. He seemed to combine thus two iconographic schemes: that of the Conception and that of the Ascension.
Murillo, who was closely involved with the Franciscans and became a lay member of the Venerable Orden Tercera de S. Francisco in 1662, also systematically dressed the Virgin in white and blue according to the vision of Beatriz de Silva, to whom the Virgin appeared as such. The new colour scheme replaced the traditional blue and red mantle. The crescent moon at her feet comes from the New Testament, Vision of St John the Evangelist (Revelation 12:1) of a 'woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars'.
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception maintains that the Virgin Mary was conceived free from sin and was particularly defended by the Franciscans against the Dominicans although it was only accepted as an official doctrine following Alexander VII's papal brief of 1662.
Although Murillo developed in his early years a truly baroque sensibility, his late works became more aerial in compositions and displayed a lighter, pastel-like palette, which anticipated somehow the Rococo characteristics. This painting reproduces one of the most inventive and admired compositions created by the master.

Objects and images were used for protection, intercession and as votive offerings since Antiquity. Amulets, rings and talismans were common throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and often had pagan and erotic imagery. Popular images were also produced expressly for the purpose of intercession, protection and instruction. In particular the Virgin, Christ and the saints were depicted, for they were considered to be advocates before God and agents of protection against evil. Christians in the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods expressed and strengthened their faith through public rituals, such as celebration of the Eucharist, and personal devotions conducted in a private chapel, monastic cell, or simply in a secluded part of their home. In Western Europe, a form of spirituality that emphasized the emotional involvement of the faithful emerged by 1300. Believers were encouraged to contemplate events from the life of Christ, the Virgin, or the saints, as if they were present. Images of the Virgin and Child were among the most popular images for private devotion and these were primarily small religious paintings suitable as a focus for private worship, as opposed to larger altarpieces intended for public display. Such images frequently emphasized the tender relationship between the mother and her child.

Originally attributed to Murillo himself, this painting has been recognised as a copy since 1923, probably of a Murillo painting of the same subject now at Aynhoe Park, Northants.

Bartolomé Estebán Murillo (1617/18-1682) was born in Seville where he probably trained in the studio of Juan del Castillo (ca.1590-ca.1657). He received many commissions and worked especially for the religious orders but was also a renowned portrait painter. He may have undertaken a journey to Madrid where he could have met Diego Velazquez (1599-1660) however this cannot be confirmed. He died a few months after he fell from the scaffoldings in the church of the Capuchines in Cádiz, whilst still painting the main altarpiece.

This painting derives from well-known compositions created by the Spanish Baroque painter Murillo. It shows the Virgin Mary carried aloft on clouds by a retinue of angels. This picture illustrates the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, a popular subject in 17th-century Spain where Marian devotion was particularly important. Murillo painted many versions of the theme, which appears to be his most popular compositions. This painting may precisely derive from one of them currently housed in the Dayton Art Institute. The present painting may be contemporary of the last period of Murillo or slightly posterior.

532-1882