The Angels' Kitchen is a 1646 oil on canvas painting by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, originally produced for a small Franciscan monastery in the artist's native Seville. From at least 1810 it was in the Alcázar of Seville, before being looted by Marshal Soult, arriving in his collection in Paris in 1813. The French state bought it in the sale of Soult's collection in 1858 and it has hung in the Louvre, in Paris, ever since.[1]

The Angels' Kitchen (1646) by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Michel Butor included it in his list of 105 decisive masterpieces of Western art.[2]

History

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It originally formed part of a set of twelve works, the others being:

It shows an otherwise unknown scene from the history of the Franciscan order, possibly Brother Francisco Perez from Alcalá de Guadaíra, who was an assistant in the kitchen of the monastery of San Francisco el Grande. According to legend, he was such an ardent devotee that he once forgot his duties and fell asleep. When he woke up he found his duties miraculously fulfilled.[5]

References

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  1. ^ (in French) "Joconde entry".
  2. ^ (in French) Michel Butor. 105 œuvres décisives de la peinture occidentale / Flammarion. — 2019. — С. 142—145. — ISBN 9782081450752
  3. ^ "Catalogue entry". 11 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Catalogue entry".
  5. ^ "WGA entry".