Artwork
The Little Fruit Seller
The Little Fruit Seller is an oil painting by the Spanish Baroque Tenebrist artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. It dates from 1670 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
The painting traveled to Munich in the 1700s and now lives in the Alte Pinakothek.
This small oil painting shows a young fruit seller from Seville in the 1600s. Murillo paints everyday life with warmth and care. The boy balances a basket of fruit on his head, offering his goods to the viewer.
It was likely made around 1670–1675, when Murillo was at his peak. The painting traveled to Munich in the 1700s and now lives in the Alte Pinakothek.
To see more like this, look up Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.
Subject & Meaning
This genre scene depicts a young girl seated on a rock in a natural setting, counting the coins she has earned from selling fruit. She is viewed in three-quarter profile, while a young boy leans in beside her to observe her calculation of the day's receipts. The boy holds the handle of a basket filled with grapes, which rests on the ground before him, and wears a satisfied expression. The composition focuses on the immediate aftermath of a commercial transaction, highlighting the children's engagement with their earnings and the remaining produce.
Technique & Style
Created between 1670 and 1675, The Little Fruit Seller is executed in oil paint on a canvas support. The work adheres to a vertical format, measuring 144.3 cm in height and 107.6 cm in width. Stylistically, the painting is a genre scene characterized by a Baroque approach and realistic perspective, depicting two children in a natural setting near a rocky escarpment. The composition features a girl counting money while a boy observes and holds the handle of a basket filled with grapes. The handling of the medium captures specific details of the figures' expressions and the arrangement of the fruit, grounding the narrative in a tangible, everyday reality.
History & Provenance
The work titled The Little Fruit Seller was painted by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo around 1670-1675 using oil on canvas. It was created in Spain in Murillo’s characteristic Baroque style and depicts a young fruit vendor surrounded by children. The painting measures 144.3 cm in height and 107.6 cm in width. It entered the Alte Pinakothek in Munich in 1768 as part of the bequest of Franz Joseph von Dufresne, a Hofkammerrate. The work remains in the museum’s collection today. The painting was acquired by the Bavarian State Painting Collections through the 1768 legacy of Franz Joseph von Dufresne and has been exhibited in Munich since then. The piece is cataloged under the genre of genre painting and is part of the Alte Pinakothek’s holdings. The painting is held at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, part of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, and was acquired in 1768 through the bequest of Franz Joseph von Dufresne. It measures 144.3 cm in height and 107.6 cm in width. The work has been exhibited as part of the Alte Pinakothek's collection displays, though specific exhibition histories beyond its permanent display are not detailed in the sources.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( mure-IL-oh, m(y)uu-REE-oh, Spanish:; late December 1617, baptised 1 January 1618 – 3 April 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter.
