Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
Young Man, 1650–55
Oil on canvas
25 3/8 × 17 3/4 in. (64.4 × 45.2 cm)
Private collection
This charming portrait of an unknown young man first appeared on the market in 2009, as an anonymous Spanish work. By comparison with Murillo’s portrait of Juan Arias de Saavedra and the Frick self-portrait, it can be attributed to the painter and dated to the first half of the 1650s. It is tempting to identify the sitter as one of the painter’s sons, but he is more likely an aristocrat from Seville. The painting was cut down on all sides at an unknown date.