Murillo was the fourteenth child of a barber in Sevilla, South Spain. The poor and ragged street children which he has painted so often are from memories of his own childhood and youth.

He was ten years old when his father died, and an older brother saw to it that the Bartolomé would come to an experienced painter, Juan de Castillo, as his apprentice. He became a painter well-liked by the people in his time for his Madonnas floating in the sky with a sweet enchanted look in their eyes.

In the 20th century, the realist Murillo was discovered who portrays the poor beggar children playing on the streets.