He became well-known because of his sculpture "The Fallen Angel" ("El Ángel Caído", 1877), a work inspired by a passage from John Milton's "Paradise Lost", and which represents Lucifer falling from Heaven. The sculpture (see picture), of great dramatism and originality, obtained the First Medal at the Spanish National Fine Arts Exhibition in 1878, and the same year was cast in bronze for the third Paris World's Fair. Later on, the Prado Museum donated it to the City of Madrid, and in 1885 it was installed in a square with the same name in the Retiro Park (the largest one in Madrid). For that purpose, architect Francisco Jareño (1818–1892) designed a pedestal of granite, bronze and stone. The success of this work made Bellver been accepted as academician. He was director of the Arts and Works School in Madrid.