Murillo: the Prodigal Son restored

Abstract

This volume has been published to celebrate the recent and extensive conservation of the National Gallery of Ireland's 'Prodigal Son series', a cycle of six paintings by master storyteller of the Spanish Golden Age, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Recounting the life story of these six remarkable canvases from their creation in the 1660s to the present day, the book describes their astounding journey through eminent Spanish collections, a royal household, and into the hands of the Vatican, before making their way to Russborough, County Wicklow, and finally to the National Gallery of Ireland in 1987. The volume is rich with full-colour images by NGI photographer Roy Hewson who documented the dramatic transformation of the paintings during the conservation project, and accompanied by essays by Aoife Brady and Muirne Lydon, as well as detailed entries and technical notes on each painting. Exhibition: National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin (29.02-30.08.2020).