3 - BARTOLOMÉ ESTEBAN MURILLO (Seville, 1618–1682).

BARTOLOMÉ ESTEBAN MURILLO (Seville, 1618–1682). “Christ, Savior of the World (Salvator Mundi),” ca. 1644–1648. Oil on copper. This work has been studied and attributed to Bartolomé Esteban Murillo by José María Quesada Valera, an art historian and researcher specializing in Spanish Golden Age painting, author of numerous scholarly publications on Baroque painting, and affiliated with the Institute of Historical and Artistic Studies (IEHA). It is accompanied by his eleven-page historical-artistic study, in which he expressly defends the Sevillian master’s authorship. Provenance: private collection. Acquired in Salamanca in 2019 by its current owner, according to the accompanying study. Measurements: 11.2 x 9.2 cm; 27.5 x 25 cm (frame). A unique painting on copper associated with the early years of Murillo’s artistic maturity, when the Sevillian master was beginning to define the pictorial language that would make him one of the great figures of the European Baroque. The work is of particular interest due to its extremely small format and its support. The composition depicts the adolescent Christ as the Salvator Mundi, blessing with his right hand while resting his left on the orb, a symbol of his spiritual and universal dominion. The figure emerges from a dark background, with a serene expression and a direct gaze that establish a particularly intimate connection with the viewer. The delicacy of the features, the soft modeling of the cheeks, and the naturalness of the gesture foreshadow some of the expressive qualities that would characterize the artist’s celebrated religious works from his mature period. The tunic, in bluish and greenish tones, is marked by its contrast with the intense red of the cloak, whose folds introduce movement and depth into the composition. Particularly significant is the treatment of the hands, rendered with precise and flexible brushwork, as well as the vibrancy of the pictorial surface—characteristics that Quesada links to other small copper engravings attributed to the painter. One of the most interesting aspects of the study is the interpretation of the work within the context of the young Murillo’s artistic development. Quesada points out that the iconography of the *Salvator Mundi*, relatively distinct from the Sevillian tradition, draws on models developed by El Greco and his workshop, particularly in the series depicting the apostles. This connection, combined with certain formal affinities with the painting of José de Ribera, allows the researcher to link the work to Murillo’s possible stay in Madrid between 1640 and 1643, during which he would have had the opportunity to study the great royal collections and see important examples of Spanish, Flemish, and Italian painting firsthand. In this context, the specialist raises the possibility that this copperplate was part of a small-format series of apostles, a hypothesis he links to Murillo’s series of apostles preserved at the Galleria Nazionale in Parma. Quesada particularly highlights the similarities in the construction of the faces and the naturalistic character of the figures—features he considers characteristic of an early phase in the artist’s career. The stylistic analysis also draws parallels with works such as *Saint Andrew* and *Saint Thomas* from the aforementioned Parma collection, as well as with other paintings associated with Murillo’s early period, including *Old Woman with a Hen and a Basket of Eggs*, housed at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, and *Old Woman Spinning*, which belongs to The Hoare Collection, under the care of the British National Trust. These comparisons allow us to situate the painting at a transitional moment between the naturalism of his early compositions and the progressive idealization of the faces that would characterize his later work. The choice of copper as a support is another point of interest. Although less common than canvas in Murillo’s work, its use is documented in various small-format compositions. Quesada highlights the distinctive painterly texture of this particular work, executed with short, impasto brushstrokes that lend remarkable liveliness to the surface, despite its small size. The importance of this painting lies, therefore, not only in its status as a devotional image but also in its potential contribution to our understanding of Murillo’s early years. According to Quesada’s interpretation, the copper panel bears witness to the artist’s creative evolution following his exposure to the Madrid school of painting, as he began to move beyond the naturalism of his early teachers and develop his own artistic identity. Bartolomé Esteban Murillo occupies a central place in the history of 17th-century Spanish painting. Trained in Seville, traditionally within the circle of Juan del Castillo, he developed a career that would lead him to become one of the most sought-after painters of his time. His reputation was