Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s Adoration of the Magi is a pen and brown ink drawing with brown wash over red and black chalk on laid paper, dated to c. 1650/1656 and held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. ^[3]. Unlike the finished oil paintings for which the artist is best known, this work is a preparatory study that reveals the draftsman’s working process in the middle of his career, executed during the period of Spain’s Siglo de Oro when Murillo was establishing himself as a leading figure of the Spanish Baroque ^[1].

Artist: Murillo and the Spanish Baroque

Murillo (baptised 1 January 1618; died 3 April 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter and draftsman active in Seville ^[1][2]. Although he is best known for his religious works, he also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporary women and children, including flower girls, street urchins, and beggars, which constitute an extensive record of the everyday life of his times ^[1]. The Adoration of the Magi drawing belongs to his mature period, when he was producing both devotional compositions and genre scenes with equal facility ^[1]. His work as a draftsman, evidenced by this sheet, demonstrates his command of wash technique and chalk underdrawing, skills that supported his larger painted commissions ^[3].

Medium and technique: pen, wash, and chalk on laid paper

The drawing is executed in pen and brown ink with brown wash over red and black chalk on laid paper ^[3]. This combination of media was characteristic of Spanish Baroque draftsmanship, allowing the artist to establish the composition with chalk before defining contours in ink and building tonal depth through wash ^[2][3]. The brown wash creates areas of shadow and volume, while the red and black chalk beneath provides a warm undertone and guides the final ink lines ^[3]. The use of laid paper, a common support for drawings in this period, is consistent with Murillo’s practice as a draftsman ^[3].

Date and provenance: the National Gallery of Art sheet

The National Gallery of Art dates the drawing to c. 1650/1656, placing it in the middle of Murillo’s career ^[3]. This period followed his early training and preceded his later, more celebrated commissions in Seville ^[1]. The work is recorded in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, which holds it as part of its permanent collection of European drawings ^[3]. The sheet’s survival as an independent drawing—rather than as a cartoon or modello for a specific painted altarpiece—reflects the growing appreciation for drawings as collectible objects in the seventeenth century ^[1][3].

Iconography: the Magi in Murillo’s religious oeuvre

The subject of the Adoration of the Magi was a common theme in Spanish Baroque religious art, and Murillo treated it in both paintings and drawings ^[1][3]. The composition would have included the three Magi presenting their gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—to the Christ child, with Mary as the central figure of devotion ^[1]. In the drawing, the figures are arranged to guide the viewer’s eye toward the focal point of the adoration, a compositional strategy Murillo employed throughout his religious works ^[1][3]. The use of wash to model light and shadow enhances the sense of divine presence, a hallmark of his devotional imagery ^[3].

Related works and legacy

Murillo’s Adoration of the Magi drawing relates to his broader production of religious compositions, which dominated his output and earned him lasting fame ^[1]. His ability to convey human emotion and spirituality made his works accessible and widely admired, and he also painted two self-portraits, one in the Frick Collection and one in London’s National Gallery ^[1]. The drawing at the National Gallery of Art demonstrates the artist’s skill in a medium less frequently associated with him than oil painting, yet equally central to his creative process ^[2][3]. Murillo’s legacy as a draftsman has been increasingly recognised, with scholarly attention to his preparatory studies complementing the study of his finished paintings ^[1][2].

Frequently asked questions

What medium is Murillo’s Adoration of the Magi drawing executed in?

The drawing is executed in pen and brown ink with brown wash over red and black chalk on laid paper ^[3].

When was the drawing created?

The National Gallery of Art dates the work to c. 1650/1656, placing it in the middle of Murillo’s career ^[3].

Where is the drawing located?

The drawing is in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. ^[3].