"The Good Shepherd"

ven considering his success as a religious painter, Murillo's images of the Infant Christ and the Infant Saint John the Baptist were remarkably sought after by both Spanish and foreign collectors. Not only did these pictures have obvious decorative appeal and hung well in the luxurious interiors of the wealthy and devout, but they were ideal for private chapels. In Seville, Murillo sold many of these paintings to his main patrons, Don Justino de Neve and Nicolás Omazur, but they were also coveted by English collectors, such as Joseph Townsend, who wrote that during his travels in Spain he did not find works by any other artist that "equalled [Murillo] in expression and sweetness". In fact, for a time, Murillo's work was far more famous in England than in Spain, and its presence in British collections later inspired paintings by Gainsborough, Reynolds and Greuze. The charm of these paintings and their call to human emotion helped make complex theological concepts accessible and gave these images a mass appeal that endures; they are still some of most widely reproduced artworks in the Catholic Church.