BARTOLOMÉ ESTEBAN MURILLO (Seville, 1617 - Cadiz, 1682)."The Baptism of Christ" (Preparatory study for the altar of Seville Cathedral).Oil on canvas. Antique re-colouring.It has slight restorations on the pictorial surface.It has informative labels on the back.Work reproduced in:-D. Angulo Iñguez, Murillo. Catálogo critico, Madrid, 1981, vol. II, p. 285, cat. no. 363a, ill. vol. III, p. 211, cat. no. 235, ill. vol. III, pl. 219.-E. Valdivieso, Murillo: Catalogo Razonado De Pinturas, Madrid, 2010, p. 406, and 205.Provenance:-Collection of Genral the Hon. John Meade (circa 1775-1849), Consul General of Madrid.-Frank T. Sabin, London, 1955.Size: 37 x 26.5 cm; 50 x 39 cm (frame).The present Baptism of Christ is most probably the sketch made by Murillo in preparation for his great altarpiece of 1667 for the Chapel of San Antonio in Seville Cathedral. The artist has made only minor changes in extending the sketch to the finished work, the most obvious of which is the right arm of John the Baptist. Given that this and the St. Peter receiving the keys, of the same dimensions, have coexisted since at least the mid-19th century, it is fair to assume that the latter was also a preparatory sketch.The former owner of the piece, General John Meade, was the son of an important landowner in Northern Ireland and served as consul general in Madrid from 1816 until 1832, when the post was abolished. He was one of a group of men who took advantage of favourable buying conditions in Spain to build up an eclectic but remarkable collection of paintings, just under half of which consisted of Spanish works. After his death, his collection was offered at several auctions, the most notable of which took place at Christie's on 6-8 March 1851 and included El Greco's Portrait of a Lady with a Flower in her Hair, later in the Viscount Collection. Little is known of Murillo's childhood and youth except that he lost his father in 1627 and his mother in 1628, for which reason he was taken into the care of his brother-in-law. Around 1635 he must have begun his apprenticeship as a painter, most likely with Juan del Castillo, who was married to a cousin of his. This working and artistic relationship lasted about six years, as was customary at the time. After his marriage in 1645 he embarked on what was to be a brilliant career that gradually made him the most famous and sought-after painter in Seville. The only trip he is known to have made is documented in 1658, when Murillo was in Madrid for several months. It is conceivable that while at court he kept in touch with the painters who lived there, such as Velázquez, Zurbarán and Cano, and that he had access to the collection of paintings in the Royal Palace, a magnificent subject of study for all the artists who passed through the court. Despite the few documentary references to his mature years, we know that he enjoyed a comfortable life, which enabled him to maintain a high standard of living and have several apprentices. Having become the leading painter in the city, surpassing even Zurbarán in fame, he was determined to raise the artistic level of local painting. In 1660 he decided, together with Francisco Herrera el Mozo, to found an academy of painting, of which he was the main driving force. His fame spread so far throughout Spain that Palomino states that around 1670 King Charles II offered him the possibility of moving to Madrid to work there as a court painter. We do not know whether this reference is true, but the fact is that Murillo remained in Seville until the end of his life. His works are now in the most important art galleries in the world, such as the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, etc.