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Bartolomé Esteban Murillo , Spanish, 1617-1682

Title

Portrait of Josua van Belle

Date1670

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions

125 x 102 cm

Signedon verso: 1670

Credit LinePurchased, 1866

Object numberNGI.30

ProvenanceJosua van Belle's collection in Seville from 1670; later presumably in Rotterdam, in the possession of Van Belle’s heirs; purchased in London, 1866, for £100 (Grant-in-Aid).Exhibition HistoryMurillo IV Centenario, Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, Seville, 28 November 2018 - 17 March 2019

Murillo. From Heaven to Earth, Kimbell Art Musuem, Texas, 18 September 2022 - 29 January 2023
Label TextBorn in Rotterdam, Josua van Belle was a Dutch shipping merchant who lived for a period in Seville, where this portrait was painted. Van Belle had a celebrated collection of paintings, including Johannes Vermeer’s Woman Writing a Letter, with her Maid (NGI.4535), now in the National Gallery of Ireland. Principally known for his religious paintings, the Spanish artist Murillo painted a handful of portraits of which this is one of the finest. They generally reveal the influence of court portraits by Velázquez and Anthonis Mor, a Flemish artist working in Madrid.