Two Women at a Window

Murillo's painting depicts two female onlookers at an open window - one is leaning on the window sill, resting her chin on her hand; the other is partially hidden behind the wooden shutter, pulling her shawl up to her mouth to cover it. Judging from the grin on the first woman’s face, it can be assumed that the woman in the background is attempting to hide her laughter. The earliest title given to this painting was The Galician Women. As contemporary viewers would have known, Galicia, a poor province in northwestern Spain, was the homeland of most of Seville's courtesans and prostitutes.