Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682)

Details

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682)

A laughing Boy, half length, wearing a plumed hat and pointing with his right hand

21¼ x 15 7/8in. (54 x 40.4cm.)

Provenance

Abraham Robarts, Hill Street, Berkeley Square, London, by 1856, and by descent

Literature

G. F. Waagen, Galleries and Cabinets of Art in Great Britain, 1857, p.164 'Very animatedly conceived and painted in a solid and glowing tone approaching Rembrandt'
C. B. Curtis, Velazquez and Murillo, 1883, p.278, no.417
J. A. Gaya Nuño, L'opera completa di Murillo, 1978, no.242
D. Angulo Iñiguez, Murillo, 1981, II, pp.300-1, no.386, and III, pl.433

Exhibited

London, Royal Academy, Works by the Old Masters, Jan.-March 1877, no.44

Lot Essay

Professor Angulo dates the present picture 'around 1660 or slightly earlier' and points out that the model used for the boy would seem to have also been used for the 'Family Group' in the collection of Erin Berman, Monroe, Michigan (Angulo Iñiguez, op. cit., II, p.310, no.401, and III, pl.434).

A studio copy is at Warwick Castle (Angulo Iñiguez, op. cit., II, p.301, and III, pl.623)

More from Old Master Pictures

View All