Bartolomé Esteban Murillo: The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables (1660-1665)

(Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain)

a painting by the Spanish artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682). the virgin Mary is shown here dressed in white and blue, her hands crossed and her gaze directed at the heavens as she stands on the moon (a symbol of the virgin). She is lifted by a large group of Cherubs. Murillo combines here the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption into one painting. This piece was commissioned by don Justino de Neve, a canon of Seville Cathedral and a close friend of Murillo, for the Hospital de los Venerables Sacerdotes in Seville. Painting from 1660-1665.


This painting made the news on June 23, 2020 when a copy of this piece was given to a furniture restorer for restoration, resulting in a complete botched up painting: Murillo’s Immaculate Conception botched by restorer