The Flower Girl (Murillo) facts for kids
The Flower Girl is a famous painting by the Spanish artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. He painted it around 1665 to 1670. This beautiful oil painting shows a young girl holding flowers. Today, you can see it at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London, England. The painting is also known by other names, like Fanciulla con fiori in Italian or Muchacha con flores in Spanish.
Secrets of the Painting
Scientists used X-rays to look at The Flower Girl. They found something amazing! Underneath the top painting, there was another image. It was the lower part of a figure that looked like the Virgin Mary. This hidden image was turned on its side.
Artists like Murillo sometimes reused their canvases. This saved them money and materials. We know Murillo made several versions of his "Immaculate Conception" paintings. He started making them around 1664. It seems he painted The Flower Girl over one of these earlier works.
Who is the Girl?
The way light falls on the girl's dress is special. It shows a soft, spread-out light. This style was very common in Murillo's best work, around 1665-1670.
Some people think the girl in the painting might be Murillo's own daughter. Her name was Francisca Maria. She was born in 1655 and became a nun in 1671. She joined the Dominican Order as Sister Francis Maria de Santa Rosa. If this is true, the rose she holds in the painting could be a symbol for her new name, Santa Rosa. This would make the painting a mix of family life and religious meaning for the artist.
Where Did the Painting Go?
In the 1700s, a British artist named Francis Bourgeois bought the painting. He bought it for Stanislaus II Augustus, who was the King of Poland. The king wanted to start a big art museum in Warsaw, like the famous Hermitage Museum.
However, the king had to give up his throne in 1795. So, his dream of a museum did not come true. Instead, when Francis Bourgeois passed away in 1811, he left The Flower Girl to the Dulwich Picture Gallery. That is where it has been ever since.
See also
In Spanish: Muchacha con flores para niños
