Picture 1 / 3
The Lord is my shepherd
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, The Good Shepherd, c. 1660
- Painter
- Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
- Collection
- Museo del Prado, Madrid
- Scripture
- Psalm 23:1
- Published
- 4 October 2026
- Image
- Wikimedia Commons, public domain ↗
Murillo paints the shepherd as a child. He sits among ruins with his staff, one hand resting on a sheep, and looks straight at us.
Murillo painted the child Jesus as a shepherd several times for patrons in Seville. The picture joins two texts: the shepherd of Psalm 23 and the good shepherd of John 10, who gives his life for the sheep.
The child's hand rests on the sheep's back as on something that belongs to him.
The rest of the flock grazes far behind. This one sheep has been singled out.