National Gallery marks the 400th anniversary of the birth of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Marking the 400th anniversary of the birth of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682), the National Gallery exhibition, Murillo: The Self Portraits reunites the artist’s only two known self-portraits for the first time in over three hundred years. Portraits by Murillo are relatively rare – only around sixteen have been identified so far – including these two self-portraits made at very different points in his life. They are being shown together with six additional portraits, including Murillo’s first known portrait of ‘Juan Arias de Saavedra’, 1650 (Collection Duchess of Cardona), which has been restored especially for the exhibition and is being shown in public for the first time. The exhibition also includes the portrait of ‘Diego Ortiz de Zúñiga’, ca. 1655 (Private collection) which has recently been re-attributed as the lost original by Murillo following its rediscovery in Penrhyn Castle, Wales.