Description
Murillo's masterpiece enjoys his admiration not only for its captivating and soft charm, but also because it would hardly be possible to express the institution's mission more perfectly. The vision of Jesus distributing bread reminds us of the Christian's duty to care for those who fall by the wayside, a duty that originates with Christ himself. However, he affirms it with an evident naturalness, free of didactic nuances.
It is a baroque composition with the Child in the center; His face leaves no trace of the joy characteristic of Murillo's young beggars. It is a childish face, charming, but exalted and spiritualized. The body painting indicates how closely Murillo observed the proportions and movements of young children. Equally beautiful and exalted is the face of the ministering angel. Mary, sitting behind the Child, is the embodiment of motherhood, a human being of this earth, beautiful but without true beauty, anxious and worried as she looks at her little son. In the 17th century, subtle brushstrokes and carefully selected tones were used to separate the earthly from the heavenly.