“The Birth of the Virgin”, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1661, Louvre, Paris.
This painting shows those moments just after the birth of the Virgin. Murillo based the scene on daily life as he knew it in Andalusia. The child is surrounded by a circle of adorning women, one of whom holds her securely in her arms. They have just bathed the child. Her parents, Anne and Joachim can be seen at a canopied bed in the background. Although angels descend and adore the child, Murillo shows her birth as being as natural as any other. The angels show forth the sanctity of this child, but they behave as would children. One of them holds up a towel for the child. Another plays with a dog. Murillo often included dogs in his paintings. Dogs are symbols of loyalty and faithfulness but this little animal, who has befriended the angel, may well stand as a sign for us of God’s Providence. The low view point suggests an upstairs bedroom. The whole has a convincing air of contemporary domesticity. In this work Murillo gently blends the heavenly and earthly, in a way which his distinctive of his art. The painting was commissioned for the Cathedral in Seville. However, during the French occupation of Seville, it was taken to France and it is now in the Lourve. It was copied in 1810 and that painting is in the collection of the National Gallery in London, testament to the enduring popularity of Murillo’s art.
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The Catholic Chaplaincy is also a parish of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh (the Parish of St Albert the Great) and all Catholic students and staff are automatically members of this parish.
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