ALCOBA ESTEBAN MURILLO
"NO-SMOKING" ROOM

This bedchamber was originally the master bedroom, and has a queen bed.  A stone stairway leads to a loft, where there is a sofa bed and a desk.

Like all “Estrella de Belem” bedchambers, it has insulated windows, radiant heat floors, air conditioning, an LCD television, high-speed internet access, electronic safe and direct-dial telephone.  The furniture is French country style and is made of alder, a tree from the British Isles that the Celts and Scots believed was sacred.



The oil painting that decorates the room is a copy of “The Adoration of the Shepherds” by Esteban Murillo.  Murillo has left Saint Joseph in the semi-darkness, illuminating the Virgin and the Baby.  



Bartolomé Esteban Murillo is perhaps the painter who best represents the Spanish Baroque style.  He was born in Seville in 1617 and spent most of his life there.  In 1645, Murillo got his first important commission for the Convent of San Francisco in Seville. The works reflect the notable influence of Van Dyck, Titian and Rubens.  In 1658, he traveled to Madrid, where it is likely he knew Velazquez, and would have been influenced by the Flemish and Venetian styles.   In late 1658, Murillo returned to Seville.  In 1660, he founded the Academy of Drawing in Seville.  Murillo’s most productive period began in 1665, when he received numerous commissions and collaborated in the decoration of the Hospital of Charity in Seville.  He died in 1682.