Murillo B.E. was born in 1617 in Seville, Spain and was orphaned at a young age, living with a local artist who influenced his early religious works. Some of his drawings were sold to churches and his paintings emphasized the peaceful, joyous aspects of spiritual life. In his later years, he helped found a public Academy of Art and served as its president, but died in 1682 while painting a mural on a monastery wall.