IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. "An inspired 

 man," the critics call Murillo, and everyone 

 who looks upon his paintings of sacred sub- 

 jects feels the justice of the praise. That he felt 

 deeply, and therefore was able to make others 

 feel, is as apparent in his pictures as is his knowl- 

 edge of drawing and his mastery of warm, soft 

 coloring. His paintings for the most part show 

 no struggle, as do many of those of Michelangelo, 

 for instance, but diffuse an air of serene well- 

 being. "We seem," says one writer in describing 

 his pictures, "to exist in one of those happy 

 moments when grief is afar off and when the 

 sweetest affection of the human heart is gratified 

 and all life is serene." It is this quality in his 

 paintings which accounts in large measure for his 

 vogue, for Murillo is one of the most popular of 

 the great, artists. 



This particular picture is Murillo's latest and 

 most finished presentment of the Virgin. With 

 its sweetness and ideality, it has always been a 

 favorite; during the Napoleonic wars Marshal 

 Soult felt that he was bestowing a great boon on 

 France when he brought it back from Spain at 

 the close of his campaign there. Later, the 

 French government bought it, paying for it about 

 $125,000, the greatest sum ever paid for a picture 

 up to that time. 



L. J. B. 



