3-097-989 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The painter Benito Soriano Murillo, 1863. Soriano Murillo (1827-1891) poses naturally, elegantly dressed, as he smokes a cigar and appears to be conversing with the artist painting him. A piano and a guitar allude to his love of music, while the palette and brushes in the foreground, on the floor, recall his profession as a painter. The room is decorated with a large tapestry, and a pair of red slippers appear as a symbol of intimacy. Soriano Murillo won a second-class medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in 1856 with "The Moor's Sigh". In 1858, he was appointed professor of drawing at the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts and, on November 25, 1865, assistant director of the Museo de la Trinidad. He was elected to the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1880.