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activity, Murillo learned much by studying
the technique of the masters in local private
collections. After he had transformed his
early, somewhat dry style of religious paint-
ing into “warm and atmospheric” rendi-
tions of scenes from the lives of the saints,
he began to secure numerous commissions
from churches and monastic communities.
His rising stature during the late 1640s and
1650s brought him the presidency of
Seville's Academy of Art in 1660. He subse-
quently displaced F RANCISCO DE Z URBARÁN
as the leading painter of religious imagery
and developed considerable popularity in
genre scenes of urchins and picturesque
street folk. His career ended dramatically
when he fell from a high scaffold while
painting in a church.
Murillo's great appeal lay in a mastery
of sweetness and charm of expression and
adroit management in his subject matter,
whether religious or secular. Through
these approaches he was able to win the
favor of those who had grown too accus-
tomed to the stark intense imagery of Zur-
barán and who were attracted by smiling
madonnas, winsome angels, and amus-
ingly picaresque children. Despite the
undoubtedly skillful rendering of his sacred
themes, such as the images of the Immac-
ulate Conception done in 1665 for the
Church of Santa María Blanca in Seville,
Murillo would eventually be perceived as
too saccharine by modern critics. Never-
theless he and Zurbarán are masters, each
in his own way.
 
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