The Murillo from the Royal Collection at the Prado Museum

The Prado Museum is considered the largest «pinacoteca» in Spain, where a vast number of works of art are housed. These pieces have been created by a great many artists, both national and international, whose works have been received in various ways within this institution.

María Isabel de Braganza, after her arrival in Spain in 1816, decides to take up a project inherited from the reign of Charles III and reworked during the brief reign of Joseph Bonaparte. This project consisted of creating a «Real Museum» with the purpose of exhibiting the pieces of art that the Spanish crown possessed. The inauguration of this museum, which is now known as the Prado Museum, took place on November 19, 1819. The initial catalog of the museum included 311 paintings, although it is known to have had more than 1500 works in possession, which came from the «Real Sitios». Currently, the Prado Museum has over 34,000 works of art, only a portion of which are on display among the rooms (Museo del Prado, 2021).

Among the walls and collections of the Prado Museum, we can contemplate works by such renowned artists as Velázquez, Rubens, Goya, El Greco, Titian, or Murillo.

Focusing on this last one, Murillo is a singular case since he did not work for the crown during his lifetime, although he spent some months in Madrid alongside Velázquez. His contact with the crown arose post mortem, when King Philip V and Isabel de Farnesio resided temporarily in Seville. 

The queen's taste and her collecting zeal led to the acquisition of various works by Murillo during her stay in Seville, through court painter Jean Ranc who acted as an intermediary between the artistic circles of the city of Seville and the crown (Murillo, 1996, p. 21). Isabel de Farnesio brought Murillo's work to light in the aristocratic circles of her time, acquiring up to sixteen works by the Seville artist for her collection. These works were acquired through various means: some while she resided in the city and others after the death of their owners, purchasing them from their heirs (Lavalle-Cobo, 2002, p. 23). Today, these works can be seen at the Prado Museum along with other paintings by the Seville artist, totaling 43 Murillo works that form part of the «pinacoteca» national.

An important detail to which we must refer is the varied manner in which «these pieces were acquired», being in some cases unknown beyond appearing in a catalog once included in the collection of one of the Spanish kings (Museo del Prado, s.f.). The analysis of the trajectory of these pieces, from their creation to their current location in the museum, provides valuable information about acquisition mechanisms and artistic preferences across different eras.

Queen Isabel de Farnesio stands out as the principal collector of Murillo's works during her time. This interest materialized from 1729, when the monarchs established their residence in the Real Alcázar de Sevilla for nearly five years. The paintings of The Annunciation and Rebecca and Eliezer were among those that caught the queen's attention in the city of Seville, being the first Murillo works she obtained for her collection (Navarrete Prieto, 2008, p. 349).

Among the queen's collection, we must highlight The Sacred Family of the Little Bird, which she acquired after the death of Cardinal Gaspar de Molina in 1744. This work was looted by Napoleon's troops and taken to the «Museum of Napoleon» (current Louvre Museum), where it was exhibited between 1810 and 1817. It returned to Spain in 1819 and was displayed at the current Prado Museum, following an agreement for its return. Additionally, from 1744 to 1746 fourteen more Murillo works were acquired by the queen (Lavalle-Cobo, 2002, p. 68).

In 1764, at the height of Murillo's figure and work in the European scene, the royal crown acquired the Nativity of the Shepherds that was purchased from Florencio Kelly, an Irish merchant, along with the The Annunciation and the Sleeping Christ Child on the Cross (Murillo, 1996, p. 88).

A few years later, in 1769, under King Carlos III, who perpetuated the «collecting taste» inherited from his mother Queen Isabel de Farnesio, a work by the Seville painter was acquired from Marquis of Ensenada. Before 1772, the crown purchased a canvas from Marquis of Los Llanos. In addition, they acquired the The Immaculate Conception of El Escorial in 1778. Carlos IV would become the new monarch and would add to the royal collection up to four Murillo works: The Virgin of the Rosary, and two other works purchased in Seville around 1788, along with Vision of St. Francis at Porziuncola (Museo del Prado, s.f.).

With the French invasion, Marshal Soult looted a large number of works mainly from Seville, much of it by Murillo. The two great canvases in Santa María la Blanca Church, which narrate the Foundation of the Basilica of Santa Maria Major in Rome, were exhibited between 1814 and 1815 at the «Museum of Napoleon», being returned to Spain in 1815 and deposited first at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando and later at the current Prado Museum (Museo del Prado, s.f.). The same story applies to the canvas of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Healing the Leper Children, which returned to its original location in the Hospital de la Caridad of Seville (Museo del Prado, s.f.). It took us more than a century to see the Immaculate known as «of the Venerables», return to Spain after being looted by Soult, kept in a private collection until his death and then given to the Louvre Museum. It was not until 1941, following an exchange, that we could see it among the rooms of the Prado Museum (Gaya Nuño, 1978, p 113).

After the Napoleonic period, Fernando VII assumed the Spanish throne, during which time he enriched the «royal collections» with up to nine works by the prominent Seville painter. Of these acquisitions, four are listed in inventories made in 1814 and 1818 at Aranjuez, including the work «The Conversion of St. Paul». In the inventory of Nuevo Palacio, we find five more paintings, among them the canvas of Saint Ferdinand. All these works could have been acquired by the crown or requisitioned and left behind by the French in the «Museo Josefino». Additionally, in 1818, the collection of the first Count of Lerma was purchased for the royal collection, acquiring the The Immaculate Conception of Aranjuez (Museo del Prado, s.f.).

The last acquisitions of the Seville painter's works by the crown appeared for the first time in an inventory from 1854 to 1858. Subsequently, already in the twentieth century, the Prado Museum has acquired two more works. The latest addition was a crucifixion purchased by the State in 1998 and later deposited at the museum.

In conclusion, the Prado Museum, with its notable collection of 43 Murillo works, is witness to the «fervor collecting» and «artistic taste» of Isabel de Farnesio and other monarchs. Furthermore, the careful preservation of these pieces not only highlights Murillo's mastery but also underscores the connection between royal collecting and the richness of Spain's artistic heritage.

Bibliography

Lavalle-Cobo, T. (2002). Isabel de Farnesio: la reina coleccionista. Fundación de Apoyo a la Historia del Arte Hispánico.

Murillo, B. E. (1996). Murillo: paintings from Isabel de Farnesio's collection in the Prado Museum : Hospital of the Venerables, May 20 to July 21, 1996, Seville. Fundación Fondo de Cultura de Sevilla.

Murillo, B. E., & Gaya Nuño, J. A. (1978). The complete pictorial work of Murillo. Noguer.

Navarrete Prieto, B. (2018). Murillo on the occasion of his 4th centenary: historiographical and cultural perspectives : proceedings of the International Congress, Seville, March 19 to 22, 2018. Editorial Universidad de Sevilla.

Museo del Prado. (December 17, 2021). The National Museum of the Prado among the ten best museums in the world. https://www.museodelprado.es/actualidad/noticia/el-museo-nacional-del-prado-entre-los-diez-museos/3e57b825-106b-b241-56b7-d5a96935fb4b#:~:text=El%20Museo%20Nacional%20del%20Prado%20cuenta%20en%20la%20actualidad%20con,de%20un%20centenar%20de%20pinturas 

Museo del Prado. (s. f.) Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban. Retrieved March 6, 2024 from https://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/artista/murillo-bartolome-esteban/314440b0-386b-4b11-81f1-d84809e7704e?searchMeta=murillo

Museo Nacional del Prado. (s.f.). Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Healing the Leper Children. Retrieved March 6, 2024 from https://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/obra-de-arte/santa-isabel-de-hungria-curando-a-los-nios-tiosos/ff9f7326-a47d-41ee-bd21-3c4a9fcbb14f