Unbefleckte Empfängnis von San Vicente

For generations this Immaculate Conception hung almost unnoticed in the sacristy of the parish church of San Vicente in Seville, the city where Murillo spent his whole life. A cleaning completed in 2019 brought it back to attention, and it was given a place of honour by the font. A study soon afterward argued it is the earliest of Murillo's many versions of this subject, painted around 1645 when he was still in his 20s, before the type became one of his trademarks. Not everyone agrees the hand is entirely his. The Virgin stands on a crescent moon amid clouds and small angels, the formula Murillo would go on to repeat for wealthy patrons across the rest of his career.