Bartolome Esteban Murillo, Invitation to play Argolla, 18th/19th century.

Title: Argolla invitation, 18th/19th century.
Technique: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 31 x 37 cm, with frame: 47 x 53 cm
Frame: gold frame (with losses, to be preserved)
On the back label
Copy of a painting by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

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.