He traveled to Hong Kong and died there on December 7, 1899, from a heart attack. His remains were buried in Hong Kong and in 1920 were exhumed and kept in Andrés Luna's house, to be later transferred to a niche at the Crypt of San Agustin Church in the Philippines. Five years later, Juan would be reinstated as a world-renowned artist and "Peuple et Rois", his last major work, was acclaimed as the best entry to the Saint Louis World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. Some of his paintings were destroyed by fire in World War II.