The Prado Museum is bringing together, for the first time, the eight paintings produced by Valeriano Domínguez Bécquer between 1866 and 1867 as part of a commission for the Museo Nacional de Pinturas (or Museo de la Trinidad); following the museum’s closure, the works were transferred to the Prado. To carry out this task, he was awarded a grant by Royal Order of 6 February 1865, which was terminated in 1868 following the overthrow of Queen Isabel II. The set of paintings began to be dispersed in 1877, when they were placed on extended loan to various institutions.

The reunion of the eight works offers a unique opportunity to view the commission as a coherent body, highlighting the range of subjects and artistic approaches developed by Valeriano Domínguez Bécquer during this period. Bringing the paintings together also makes it possible to reconsider their relationship with the institutional and political circumstances in which they were produced, as well as their subsequent history within Spain’s museum collections.

The exhibition also sheds light on an important stage in the artist’s career, marked by his engagement with the cultural and artistic environment of nineteenth-century Spain. After more than a century of separation, the paintings can once again be appreciated together, allowing visitors to discover the connections between the individual works and to gain a broader understanding of the project for which they were originally created.