The Hospital de la Caridad is a baroque charity hospital still in operation today, caring for the elderly poor of Seville as it has done since 1681. The church attached to the hospital contains one of the most remarkable art collections in Spain: a cycle of paintings commissioned by Miguel de Mañara to meditate on death, charity, and the futility of earthly power.
The collection includes six canvases by Murillo — gentle, light-filled scenes of mercy and compassion — alongside two brutal vanitas paintings by Juan de Valdés Leal depicting death triumphing over worldly ambition. The contrast is deliberate and deeply affecting. The hospital sits just behind the Torre del Oro on the riverfront and can be visited on a modest entrance fee. It is far less visited than the Alcázar and cathedral despite housing art of equivalent quality.