School of BARTOLOME ESTEBAN MURILLO (Seville, 1617 - 1682), late 17th century. "Virgin and Child". Oil on panel. It has an opening in the panel and slight restoration. Measurements: 25 x 19 cm. In this canvas the Virgin Mary is represented with the Child in her arms, both embracing each other with tenderness. Mary appears three-quarter length, seated, holding her son with both hands, encircling him with her arms, and looking directly at the Child. Jes, for his part, appears almost naked, although Mary covers him with a white cloth as ismon in this iconography. The Child turns his body towards his mother, resting his hands on her breast. Theposition is set in a dark interior, with the figures silhouetted against a neutral background that is illuminated by the soft light radiating from the figures. The Virgin wears a pink inner tunic and a blue cloak and golden veil, colours that allude respectively to purity, the future Passion of her son, the concepts of truth and eternity and divine glory. Formally, there are important traces of Murillo's art in this work, both in the way the scene isposed and in the type of the child, which is very sweet and naturalistic, as well as in the carefully studied and effective lighting and in the monochromatic colour scheme of ochre, earthy and carmine tones. Typical of Murillo's first period, from 1645 to 1650, are precisely these closed backgrounds, the predominance of earthy tones and the large,pact figures, such as those in the present painting. In works such as the "Virgin of the Rosary" in the Meo del Prado and the "Virgin and Child" in the Pitti Palace we see this same triangularposition, with the Virgin seated on a parapet with the Child on her knees, dressed in red and blue with a golden veil. In both, a relation of tenderness and affection is established between the figures, depicted as mother and child rather than as devotional figures, in a naturalistic sense typical of Murillo and his followers. Likewise, in both examples the Virgin looks directly at the viewer, as is the case here. The differences, personal to the author of this canvas, are nevertheless visible inpositional nuances and in the model of the female face, which is somewhat more classical than those ed by Murillo in his Virgins. Th, in this work the scene is simplified, bringing the figures closer to the viewer in a fully devotional sense. On the other hand, the Child appears attentive, happy to be with his mother but attentive to the viewer, establishing a relation. Likewise, Mary is a woman of great beauty and delicate features, but somewhat more adult than those in Murillo's paintings, which are practically adolescent.Dimensions: 25 x 19 cm.