AFTER BARTOLOMÉ ESTEBAN MURILLO

This composition derives from Bartolomé Esteban Murillo's celebrated painting of a flower girl, now in Dulwich Picture Gallery, London (DPG199). It has been suggested that the sitter may be Murillo's only daughter, Francisca María (1655-1710), who entered a Dominican convent in 1671 and took the name of Sister Francisca María de Santa Rosa (after Saint Rose of Lima). If the girl is indeed Murillo's daughter, the roses she gathers in her stole could be a symbol alluding to her new name.