Bartolome Murillo: The Public Academy of Art, Seville

"The Birth of the Virgin" by Bartolome Murillo

"Bartolome Murillo established the Public Academy of Art in Seville in 1660. He had remembered the disadvantages under which he had laboured in his own artistic beginnings, and his estimate of the importance of painting as an educational and religious influence enabled him to overcome all obstacles. 

Twenty-three of the leading artists of the city assembled on the 11th of January, 1660, and drew up a constitution for the new society. Murillo and Herrera were elected to the two presidential chairs and officiated on alternate weeks as director of studies and the guide, philosopher and friend to the students. The other officers formed the council of the president and superintended the business side of the Academy. The working expenses were to be defrayed by the members of the society, whose liabilities were limited to a monthly subscription of six reals each, while the pupils were admitted on the most liberal terms. 

They were only asked to pay whatever they could afford and to faithfully obey the few simple but strictly enforced rules. Each students, on admission, was to pronounce his orthodoxy in these words - 'Praised be the most holy Sacrament and the pure conception of Our Lady,' to bind himself to refrain from swearing or loose talk, and to eschew all conversation on subjects not relating to the business of the school.

Students were numerous from the first, but differences among the subscribing members led to many changes among the officeholders, and in the second year of the Academy's existence Murillo appears to have had sole control in the management of its affairs. While Murillo was actively interested in the direction of the Academy, it flourished, and it continued to exist until his death, when it was closed."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Murillo, a Biography and Appreciation" by Albert Frederick Calvert.)