Episcopal cathedral celebrates restoration, return of copy of painting

From Dallas-

After 18 months of painstaking restoration, a 19th-century reproduction of Spanish painter Bartolomé Murillo's The Holy Family was reinstalled Tuesday in St. Matthew's Cathedral in Old East Dallas.

The 6-foot-by-8-foot oil painting, purchased in 1873 by a New York woman traveling through Europe, was a fixture at the Episcopal church for more than 70 years until it was taken down to be cleaned.

"It's like an old friend coming back to us," said the Rev. Kevin Martin, dean of the cathedral.

The painting depicts Mary and Elizabeth with their young sons, Jesus and John the Baptist. Above them are the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and God as a bearded figure with hands outstretched. Murillo's 1620 painting, also known as The Virgin of Seville, is part of the Louvre's collection in Paris.

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