Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 'The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities', about 1675-82

The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Not on display

About the work

Overview

This painting illustrates the belief that Christ was both human and divine: the embodiment of the ‘Two Trinities’. At the centre of the composition the Christ Child forms part of the Heavenly Trinity with the dove of the Holy Ghost and God the Father above, and part of the Earthly Trinity with his human parents, Mary and Joseph.

The scene is not based on a particular biblical event, though a story in the Gospel of Luke echoes its theme. Aged 12, Christ disappeared after a trip to Jerusalem; he was eventually found in the Temple debating with religious scholars. When confronted by his anxious parents Christ spoke simply of his divine mission.

Mary gazes lovingly at her son. Joseph looks towards us, inviting us to adore Christ, who stands on a sharp-edged rock. This is possibly intended to symbolise an altar or may refer to biblical descriptions of Christ as the ‘cornerstone’ upon which God’s household would be built.

In-depth

This painting illustrates the belief that Christ was both human and divine: the embodiment of the ‘Two Trinities’. At the centre of the composition the Christ Child forms both a vertical and a horizontal link with the figures around him, reinforcing the picture’s principal message.

Together with the hovering dove of the Holy Ghost and the figure of God the Father above, Christ forms part of the Holy or Heavenly Trinity. He looks up towards heaven, but affectionately holds hands with his human parents, Mary and Joseph. Together they make up the holy family, which was sometimes referred to as the Earthly Trinity, especially during the Counter-Reformation period.

The subject of the ‘Two Trinities’ was rarely painted in Spain during the seventeenth century. This is one of Murillo’s most ambitious works and it demonstrates his ability to transform a complex theological principle into a very human and accessible image.

The scene is not based on a particular biblical event, though a story in the Gospel of Luke echoes its theme. When Christ was 12 years old he was taken by his parents to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover; shortly after leaving they realised he was not with them. They found him three days later in the Temple, debating with religious scholars who were amazed at his great wisdom (Luke 2: 41–50). When confronted by his anxious parents Christ spoke simply of his divine mission.

The painting is one of extraordinary tenderness. Mary’s loving gaze and gracefully upturned palm are directed towards her young son. Joseph looks out of the picture towards us, inviting us to adore Christ. He holds a rod bursting into flower, one of his attributes, to signify his betrothal to Mary. Christ stands on a sharp-edged rock, possibly intended to symbolise an altar or refer to biblical descriptions of him as the ‘cornerstone’ upon which God’s household would be built (Matthew 21: 42 and Psalm 118: 22).

Though the painting’s early history is unrecorded, the title by which it has become known, ‘The Pedroso Murillo’, is connected to the Pedroso family. The altarpiece is recorded in their collection for over a century (in 1708 in Cádiz and later in Madrid). It is among Murillo’s last works and clearly showcases the loose and confident brushwork of his late style. It was probably made in 1681–2 when the artist was working on a series of paintings for the Capuchin church in Cádiz. He supposedly fell from scaffolding while painting there and died from his injuries several months later.

Key facts

Details

Full title: The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities ('The Pedroso Murillo')
Artist: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
Artist dates: 1617 - 1682
Date made: about 1675-82
Medium and support: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 293 × 207 cm
Acquisition credit: Bought, 1837
Inventory number: NG13
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection
Previous owners: Thomas Bulkeley Bulkeley-Owen
Frame: 17th-century Spanish Frame

Provenance

In the collection of Don Carlos Francisco Colarte, second Marqués del Pedroso, at Cadiz in 1708; in the Pedroso collection at Seville by 1800. It was bought in Seville by James Campbell, apparently for Buchanan, and brought to England in or shortly before January, 1810. By 1824 it was in the collection of Thomas Bulkeley Owen. It was on exhibition, for sale, at George Yeates’ gallery in London in May, 1837, and was purchased by the National Gallery in that year.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, revised by Allan Braham, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Spanish School’, London 1988; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Exhibition history

2018

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1618-2017)

Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla

29 November 2018 - 17 March 2019

Bibliography

1715

A. Palomino, El museo pictorico, y escala óptica, 3 vols, Madrid 1715
1775

R. Twiss, Travels Through Portugal and Spain, in 1772 and 1773, London 1775
1800

J.A. Ceán Bermúdez, Diccionario histórico de los mas ilustres profesores de las bellas artes en España, Madrid 1800
1824

W. Buchanan, Memoirs of Painting: With a Chronological History of the Importation of Pictures by the Great Masters into England Since the French Revolution, London 1824
1842

Mrs Jameson, A Handbook to the Public Galleries of Art in and Near London, London 1842
1843

F. Summerly, Felix Summerly's Hand Book for the National Gallery, London 1843
1845

G. Foggo, A Catalogue of the Pictures in the National Gallery with Critical Notes, London 1845
1845

T. Penrice, Letters Addressed to the Late Thomas Penrice, Esq., while Engaged in Forming His Collection of Pictures, 1808-1814, ed. J. Penrice, Yarmouth 1845
1847

R.N. Wornum, Descriptive and Historical Catalogue of the Pictures in the National Gallery, London 1847
1848

W. Stirling-Maxwell, Annals of the Artists of Spain, London 1848
1867

A.A. Lavice, Revue des musées d'Angleterre, Paris 1867
1873

W. Stirling-Maxwell, Essay Towards a Catalogue of Prints Engraved from the Works of D. Rodriguez de Silva Y Velazquez and B. E. Murillo, London 1873
1913

A. Mayer, Murillo, Stuttgart 1913
1952

Maclaren, Neil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Spanish School, London 1952
1970

N. MacLaren and A. Braham, The Spanish School, 2nd edn, London 1970
1981

D.A. Íñiguez, Murillo. Su vida, su arte, su obra, Madrid 1981
1981

A. Braham, El Greco to Goya: The Taste for Spanish Paintings in Britain and Ireland (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 16 September - 9 November 1981), London 1981
1983

M. Helston, Spanish and Later Italian Paintings, London 1983
1986

E. Young, 'The Two Trinities in the School of Seville and an Unknown Version by Zurbarán', Apollo, CXXIII/287, 1986, pp. 10-3
1988

Maclaren, Neil, revised by Allan Braham, National Gallery Catalogues: The Spanish School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1988
1989

N. Glendinning, 'Nineteenth-Century British Envoys in Spain and the Taste for Spanish Art in England', The Burlington Magazine, CXXXI/1031, 1989, pp. 117-26
2000

G. Finaldi, The Image of Christ, London 2000
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2002

J. Conlin, The Origins and History of the National Gallery 1753-1860, Phd Thesis, University of Cambridge 2002

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

Images

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