The final work of importance undertaken by Murillo, was the execution of a series of twenty pictures for the Capuchin Convent of the Franciscans. The convent was destroyed in 1835, when its treasures were scattered. The greater number of the pictures are now in the Museo; the immense altar-piece of the Porciuncula is in Madrid; while the Angel de la Guarda is in the Sacristía de los Cálices, having been presented to the Cathedral, by the Franciscans, in 1814. There is great beauty in this composition; which was founded upon the text, Matthew xviii. 10.
An angel, in a rich yellow robe and royal purple mantle, points with one hand to heaven, while with the other she tenderly leads a lovely child. It is painted with great lightness of touch; the diaphanous drapery of the child's dress has a transparency of texture rarely seen in Spanish pictures.
The life of Murillo was nearing its completion. He worked until its very close; and devotion to the art he loved was the immediate cause of his death. In 1678 he painted for the Hospital de los Venerables a very fine Conception, which has since been lost; he also executed two pictures for the Augustine Convent, now in the Museo. In 1681 he was summoned to Cadiz to paint an altar-piece for the Capuchins of that city. The work was nearly completed, when he fell from the scaffolding, upon which he was standing in order to reach upper portions of the picture. He received an internal injury, and returned to Seville to die, on April 3, 1682.
The whole city sorrowed for his loss. His obsequies were conducted with great magnificence. His bier was carried by four marquesses and four knights. He was buried in the Church of Santa Cruz, beneath his favourite picture, The Descent from the Cross, by Pedro Campaña. The spot was marked by a simple marble slab, upon which was engraved, according to his own desire, his name, the figure of a skeleton, and the words 'Vive Meritorus.'
The position Murillo occupies in the heart of Andalusia is almost unprecedented. To this day a picture of great merit is in Seville termed a 'Murillo.' What Cervantes was in literature Murillo was in art. Sir David Wilkie justly remarks, in his comparison of Velazquez and Murillo, 'Velazquez by his high technical excellence is the delight of all artists; Murillo, adapting the higher subjects of art to the commonest understanding of the people, seems, of all painters, the most universal favourite.'
| Artists. | Pictures. | Where Situated. |
| The Principal Works of Murillo in Seville Cathedral. | ||
| Artists. | Pictures. | Where Situated. |
| Murillo (1617-1682). " " " " " " " | Angel de la Guarda. SS. Leander and Isidore. Conception. St. Anthony of Padua. Moses striking the Rock. Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes. Charity of St. Juan de Dios. Seventeen works from the Capuchin Convent, and other works. | Sacristía de los Cálices. Sacristía Mayor. Sala Capitular. Cap del Bautisterio. Hospital de la Caridad. Ditto. Ditto. Museo. |
| Other Pictures in many of the Churches. | ||