# Ecce Agnus Dei

- By: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (Spanish, 1617–1682)
- Date: c. 1655
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: 270.2 × 184.5 cm (106 3/8 × 72 5/8 in.); Framed: 317 × 232 cm (124 13/16 × 91 3/8 in.)
- Culture: Spain
- Credit line: Louise B. and Frank H. Woods Purchase Fund
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/11392)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/666d318a-dc2a-0e58-f734-961ab7c2930a/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This is one of four large canvases devoted to the life of Saint John the Baptist that Bartolomé Esteban Murillo painted for the convent of San Leandro in his native Seville, Spain. Inscriptions from the gospels of John and Luke float in the sky, accompanied by the eagle and winged bull that, respectively, symbolize these evangelists. John the Baptist’s gesture toward Jesus alludes to the Baptist’s role in preparing the way for Christ. When he painted this series, Murillo was transitioning away from the hard edges and dramatic shading inspired by Francisco de Zurbarán toward softer, more vaporous effects.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0