The Nativity

ca. 1665–70

Not on view

One of the best known of all Spanish artists, Murillo spent most of his life in Seville, where he established an important drawing school. Many sheets from his hand have survived. This drawing is typical of the finished compositions he made late in his career. It is carefully signed in the lower left, and the letters "fe" after his surname are an abbreviation of the Latin fecit, or "made by." Many of Murillo’s drawings were preparatory sketches for paintings. However, given his fame and his role as a teacher, it is possible that he made this drawing as an independent work, perhaps to be sold to a collector.

Artwork Details

Title: The Nativity
Artist: Bartolomé Estebán Murillo (Spanish, Seville 1617–1682 Seville)
Date: ca. 1665–70
Medium: Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over traces of leadpoint or soft black chalk
Dimensions: 10-3/4 x 9 in. (27.3 x 22.9 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Purchase, Clifford A. Furst Bequest, by exchange, and Harry G. Sperling Fund, 1995
Object Number: 1995.375
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By Bartolomé Estebán Murillo

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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The Infant St. John the Baptist, Bartolomé Estebán Murillo Spanish, Pen and brown ink with brush and gray wash over black chalk underdrawing. Composition outlined with black chalk inner line and brush and gray wash outer line; framing lines ruled in pen and gray-brown ink, possibly by the artist himself — The Infant St. John the Baptist
Bartolomé Estebán Murillo
1618–82

Standing Male Figure: Study for a Portrait, Bartolomé Estebán Murillo Spanish, Pen and brown ink over black chalk underdrawing on off-white paper (recto); black chalk (verso) — Standing Male Figure: Study for a Portrait
Bartolomé Estebán Murillo
1670–80

A Knight of Alcántara or Calatrava, Bartolomé Estebán Murillo Spanish, Oil on canvas — A Knight of Alcántara or Calatrava
Bartolomé Estebán Murillo
ca. 1650–55

Virgin and Child, Bartolomé Estebán Murillo Spanish, Oil on canvas — Virgin and Child
Bartolomé Estebán Murillo
1670s

The Crucifixion, Bartolomé Estebán Murillo Spanish, Oil on canvas — The Crucifixion
Bartolomé Estebán Murillo
ca. 1675

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