On January 1, 1618, Bartolome Esteban Murillo was born in Seville, Spain. Murillo was the most famous Spanish Baroque painter of his time, known for his religious works. Murillo was the youngest of fourteen children, born to Gaspar Esteban, a barber, and María Perez. Murillo took her surname from a traditional Andalusian custom, taking the name of her grandmother, Elvira Murillo. In 1627 Murillo's father died and his mother died a year later. Murillo was orphaned at the age of ten and was sent to live with his older sister and her husband. Murillo was exposed to the art world from a young age. His uncle was a painter, who married the daughter of another successful artist. All the daughters of this couple married artists. When Murillo was about 12 years old, he was apprenticed to local painter Juan de Castello. Not much is known about his years as a young art student, other than that he began his career as a professional artist creating creations exported to the Indies and painting decorations for festivals. Murillo's early style was realistic and he often painted local peasants. Murillo may have made a trip to Madrid around this time. Thanks to the studies of this trip, his works became tender and soft. 1645 was a great year for Murillo, he married the wealthy Beatriz Cabrera y Villalobos, and obtained his first important commission. During this decade, Murillo's popularity increased rapidly. He surpassed his rival and became the most popular painter in Seville. The late 1640s and 1650s were Murillo's most challenging years as an artist, although they encountered many obstacles in his life. In 1658 Murillo made another trip to Madrid, where his studies had a great impact on his future works. Murillo had... half the paper... and lights and shadows. The room the boy is in is very dark and a strong ray of light illuminates him. The space is illustrated by the way Murillo places objects in the painting. The boy appears to be far back against the wall, while a jug of water is in the foreground. Textures are seen on the walls, on the boy's skin, on the jug and on the basket of apples. The shape is displayed by the light and shadows in the image. Without the light, everything would blend together. The light shines and casts shadows on the objects and the boy, giving shape to him and the objects. The color scheme used by Murillo are dull earthy colors, which add to the dull and sad atmosphere of the painting. I like the emotion represented in this work. Looking at the boy and his surroundings, you can almost feel his sadness and emotion. I like paintings that show strong expression and emotion. The painting is pictured below.