José Montenegro was born in Cádiz, and his training, his contacts with other artists and the exact year he arrived in Jerez remain a mystery. His life is surrounded by a halo of legend, and in fact the people have invented a thousand stories about him, considering him a new Velázquez. He focused his production on Andalusian costumbrista landscapes, with special attention to Hispano-Muslim architecture, taking his models mainly from Cadiz, Jerez and Seville.

His style shows a certain influence of the so-called School of Rome, although with a marked regionalist accent. Montenegro arrived in Jerez attracted by the job opportunities open to him in a prosperous place full of bourgeoisie enriched by the wine trade. However, he was so...