Bartolomé-Esteban Murillo imbued his many religious paintings with a simple piety and serene beauty. The artist’sconception and treatment of sacred themes, particularly his employment of a cool palette and feathery brushwork, attracted local and foreign patrons alike. Long before his canonization, the Augustinian friar St. Thomas de Villanueva (1488-1555), was venerated for his many acts of charity. This painting formed part of an altarpiece, representing scenes from the life of the Saint, commissioned by the Monastery of St. Augustin. Surviving pictures from this altarpiece include St. Thomas Healing the Cripple, Munich, Alte Pinakothek; The Youthful St. Thomas Distributing Alms, Cincinnati Art Museum; and St. Thomas Receiving the News of his Impending Death, Seville, Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes.
Details
- Artist Name: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (Spanish, 1617-1682)
- Title: Saint Thomas of Villanueva Giving Alms to the Poor
- Date: 1665-1670
- Culture: Spanish
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 52 1/8 x 30 in. (132.4 x 76.2 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1972.47.2.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
[Baron Taylor (and Adrien Dauzats?)] for;
King Louis Philippe, Galerie Espagnole, Paris, by 1838 (sale, London, Christie’s, 21 May 1853, lot 498 for gs. 710 to);
Graves, for[?];
Thomas Baring (uncle of Lord Northbrook); by descent in the
Northbrook collection, London, by 1889, sold sometime between 1919 and 1926.
[Ehrich Gallery, New York, by 1931].
Dr. Philip O. Cole;
Parlex Corporation, New York.
[Frederick Mont, New York, sold 7 November 1972 to]
Norton Simon Foundation
[on loan]
- London, British Institution, 1853 to 1853
[on loan]
- London, Royal Academy, 1872 to 1872
Exhibition of Spanish Art
- London, New Gallery, 1895 to 1896
Spanish Old Masters
- London, Grafton Galleries, 1913-10 to 1914-01
Old and Modern Masters in the New York Market from the Collections of Leading New York Dealers
- New York, Anderson Galleries, 1931-03-15 to 1931-04-04
Reinstallation of Galleries: Art History of the 17th and 18th Century Gains Fresh Dimension
- Norton Simon Museum, 1993-09-02 to 1995-08-13
All Consuming: Art and the Essence of Food
- Norton Simon Museum, 2023-04-14 to 2023-08-14
Iniguez, A., Murillo, no. 58
Lefort, Paul, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, pp. 327-328
Gaya Nuño, J., La Pintura Española fuera de España, no. 1969 pp. 252-253
Ponz, A., Viaje de España, p. 798
Augustin Cean-Bermudez, Juan, Diccionario histórico de los más ilustres profesores de las Bellas Artes en España, vol. II p. 60
Gonzalez de Leon, F., Noticia artistica y curiosa de todos los edificios públicos sagrados y profanos de esta ciudad de Sevilla y de muchas de sus casas particulares, p. 282
Ford, R., The Athenaeum, p. 655
Blanc, Charles, et al., Histoire des Peintres de toutes les Ecoles: Ecole Espagnole, pp. 15-16
Curtis, Charles B., Velazquez and Murillo, no. 398
Alfonso, L., Murillo, El Hombre, El Artista, Las Obras, p. 188
Weale, J. and J. Richter, Catalogue of the Collection of the Earl Of Northbrook, no. 229 pp. 175-176
Stirling-Maxwell, William, Annals of the Artists of Spain, Vol. III, p. 1438; Vol. IV, p. 1631
Jameson, Anna, Legends of the Monastic Orders, p. 222
Gowans and Gray, Ltd., The Masterpieces of Murillo, p. 60
A. Iniguez, A., Archivo Espagnol de Arte, pp. 71-75
Brown, J., Murillo and His Drawings, under no. 169 p. 153
Gaya Nuño, J., L'opera completa de Murillo, no. 128 p. 98
Morse, John D., Old Master Paintings in North America, p. 201
Mayer, August L., Murillo, no. 163 p. 288
Baticle, J.; and C. Marinas, La Galerie espagnole de Louis Philippe au Louvre 1838-1848, no. 175 pp. 125-126
Sullivan, Edward J. and Nancy A. Mallory, Painting in Spain 1650-1700 from North American Collections, fig. 51
Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, p. 45
Kimbell Art Museum, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682): Paintings from American Collections, fig. 2 p. 152
Valdivieso, Enrique, Murillo: Catalogo Razonado de Pinturas, Fig. 176 p. 386
Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, cat. 882 p. 348
Carnegie Museum of Art, Northbrook Provenance,
Image reproduction permission may be granted for scholarly or arts related commercial use. All image requests, regardless of their intended purpose, should be submitted via the reproduction request form.
Images may be protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. Additional permission may be required.
Please allow up to four weeks for your request to be reviewed. Approved requests for the reproduction of an image will receive a contract detailing all fees and conditions of use of the image. Upon receipt of both the signed contract and full payment, the Office of Rights and Reproductions will provide the image. A complimentary copy of the published material must be provided to the Norton Simon Museum.