Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, copy, Invitation to play Argolla, 19th century.

Bartolomé Esteban Pérez Murillo (1617 - 1682) - Spanish Baroque painter.
Murillo was born as the fourteenth child in the family of Gaspar Estéban, a balker, and Maria Perez Murillo, who came from a family that included many local artists. Orphaned at the age of ten, Murillo was raised by his eldest sister. At the age of 15, he was sent to the workshop of painter Juan de Castillo, where he received training for about five years.
In 1645 he married Beatriz de Cabrera y Sotomayor Villalobos, who became the mother of the painter's nine children. In 1645 Murillo also received his first major commission from the Franciscan order in Seville for a series of paintings depicting the life of St. Francis of Assisi. Other serious contracts followed, such as paintings for the Seville Cathedral (1656-1657). In 1658 Murillo traveled to Madrid for a year, where, having access to the collection of the royal family gathered in the Alcázar in Madrid, he expanded his knowledge of painting. Upon his return to his hometown, Murillo became one of the co-founders and first president (equivalent to rector; a position he held from 1660 to 1663) of the local Academy of Fine Arts, in operation since January 11, 1660.
In 1664 the painter's wife died. Being a person of deep faith, Murillo joined the Confraternity of Our Lady of the Rosary as early as 1644, and in 1665 joined the Confraternity of Santa Caridad, wanting to actively help the poorest. At the same time, he initiated a period of nearly 20 years of extremely intense artistic activity. In 1682, while working on an altarpiece in the Capuchin church in Cadiz, he fell from scaffolding, which became the cause of his death at his family home in Seville.
He created religious paintings and genre scenes rich in narrative detail. He left about 500 works.