[2] He joined a group of Spanish painters who gathered in the Antico Caffè Greco, which included José Casado del Alisal, Dióscoro Puebla and Marià Fortuny.

However, he continued to be interested in developing a more realistic style, which was achieved in his best known work "Doña Isabel la Católica dictando su testamento".

He took it to the International Exposition (1867) in Paris[2] and later returned to Rome, where he sent a telegram to his friends Martín Rico and Raimundo de Madrazo telling them that the painting had been an outstanding success, taking the First Gold Medal for work by a foreigner.

Rosales was in poor health himself, having had tuberculosis for many years, and made frequent visits to Panticosa in the Pyrenees, where the water was famous for its curative properties.

[citation needed] In 1922, Madrid honored him with a memorial statue, sculpted by Mateo Inurria and placed on a street named after him, the Paseo del Pintor Rosales.