Murillo, a Spanish painter during the 17th
Century, brought together the dramatic style of his Spanish contemporaries with
the light touch of the Italian artists. The dramatic style of the Baroque
Spanish artists was what Murillo was first introduced to, and his art still
retains some of these characteristics. If one attends to the contrast of light
and dark being used in this painting, one can see how he used the dramatic
style. However, Murillo was not as severe a painter as his contemporaries, but
softened his style by the use of warmer colors and less use of heavy and dark
colors. Part of this is due to his own personal taste and part to the influence
that Italian Renaissance painters had on him after he was introduced to their
lighter and looser style on a trip to Madrid. After he was introduced to the
renaissance style, his use of color and brush stroke changed, and his paintings
took on a warmer more realistic tone than the austere baroque of his
contemporaries. For this reason he grew to be very famous and his work highly
sought after very quickly.
This painting, The
Angel’s Kitchen, was one of Murillo’s first opportunities to exhibit his
talent. Created for the cloister of St. Francisco in Seville, it still bares
more marks of the baroque style than the renaissance. Despite his more baroque
style in this painting, his use of lighter colors even before the influence of
the renaissance lends a softening touch that creates for a graceful and more
relaxed atmosphere. This painting was Murillo’s first signed and dated work.
