Murillo : The Self-Portraits

Exhibition at The Frick Collection, New York, 31 October 2017 - 4 February 2018;
then at The National Gallery, London, 28 February - 21 May 2018

This exhibition catalogue brings together the only two known self-portraits by Bartolomé Estebán Murillo (1617-1682), one of the finest painters of the Spanish Golden Age. Painted almost twenty years apart, these two remarkable paintings are often overshadowed by Murillo's more famous religious paintings and genre scenes.

This book investigates the two self-portraits side by side, highlighting similarities and differences. In addition, it discusses recent technical analysis, offering a better understanding of how these self-portraits were painted, and provides a rare opportunity to compare how one of the most celebrated and influential European painters chose to represent himself at different stages of his career.