(Leer en español) The city prepares the most anticipated event of next year. The year of Murillo will celebrate in 2017 to commemorate the fourth centenary of the birth of the painter. Bartolome Esteban Murillo was born in Seville where he spent almost his entire life until his death in 1682.
In 2017, besides the Year of Murillo, Seville celebrates the 25th anniversary of Universal Expo 1992. According to the authorities have informed, the Year of Murillo 2017 will be the focus of the celebrations, leaving less importance to the memory of the Expo.
The Murillo´s House
Murillo was born and raised in Magdalena neighbourhood, lived too in San Bartolomé or San Nicolas and finally at Santa Cruz. Here is the house where he died of a fall from a scaffold while was painting Los desposorios Místicos de Santa Catalina for the Capuchins of Cadiz.
The house, at Santa Teresa street 8, was reopened as Museum to celebrate the third centenary of his death in 1982 and remained open until 1988.
Currently is the Office of the Andalusian Institute of Flamenco, but coinciding with this new commemoration, the project is to create the Research and Study Center of the School of Murillo and Seville Golden Age.
THE work of MURILLO
Murillo died painting a religious picture, which forms the bulk of his work. His success as a painter of religious orders, either from churches, convents, monasteries or privates, made him an expert in the divine subject.
Although it is a lesser-known side, Murillo also performed secular works. Children, rogues and quotidian life are present in his paintings, scattered throughout the world.
Murillo enjoyed great prestige and good relationship with traders based in Seville, as Nicolas of Omazur. Because of this his works crossed borders to end up in collections in Europe and America.
Besides of trade, looting and invasions took their toll in safeguarding his works in Seville. The French occupation included expropriation of artworks at the initiative of Marshal Soult, who created his own private collection as a result of these looting.
La Inmaculada de Soult, as known for this reason one of the works of Murillo, was in 1852 the painting most expensive in history, sold for 586,000 francs. It is currently in the Prado Museum as one of the most important works of the gallery of Madrid.
Paintings in Seville for the Year of Murillo
The dispersion of Murillo’s work is huge. At Seville highlights the presence at the Bellas Artes Museum, where they maintain and restore the paintings now.
Besides there are paintings by Murillo at the Charity Hospital, in Santa Maria la Blanca Church, the Cathedral, the Archbishopric and others property of the Focus Foundation. So Seville has only a small part of the work of his most popular painter.
Celebrations for the Year of Murillo
To increase the number of works by Murillo in the year dedicated to him in Seville, they have already begun efforts to bring more paintings of the author from various parts of the world.
The organizers are preparing an event for «cultural, social, historical, scientific and informative scope with national and international impact».
In the project, besides painting exhibitions, there will be shows performing arts, music, theater, cuisine and activities for to bring visitors to Murillo time in Seville.
So it is the initiative of the city to pay tribute to one of the most important Sevillian, to celebrate the Year of Murillo in 2017. So that everyone can enjoy his work and remember him in the fourth centenary of his birth.