.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The present work is a version of Murillo's The Flower Girl (Dulwich Picture Gallery, Dulwich, England, see P. Murray, The Dulwich Picture Gallery: A Catalogue, 1980, no. 199), which is dated to circa 1665/70. Professor Enrique Valdivieso has confirmed on the basis of a transparency the participation of Murillo himself in this studio work (private communication, July 24, 1998.)
Furthermore Valdivieso has put forward the interesting hypothesis that the present composition may in fact be part of a cycle depicting the four seasons, citing late 17th century inventories from Seville that record two such series: one a complete set of four for Nicolas de Omazur, and the other comprising two paintings representing Spring and Summer for D. Justino de Neve (private communication, Nov. 24, 1998). Valdivieso will be publishing an Allegory of Summer, in which a bare-chested young boy holds summer fruits, in a forthcoming article in the Archivo Espaol de Arte.
Furthermore Valdivieso has put forward the interesting hypothesis that the present composition may in fact be part of a cycle depicting the four seasons, citing late 17th century inventories from Seville that record two such series: one a complete set of four for Nicolas de Omazur, and the other comprising two paintings representing Spring and Summer for D. Justino de Neve (private communication, Nov. 24, 1998). Valdivieso will be publishing an Allegory of Summer, in which a bare-chested young boy holds summer fruits, in a forthcoming article in the Archivo Espaol de Arte.