Fernando Selma

His father-in-law, Jerónimo Antonio Gil, founder of the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City, appointed him to be in charge of the engraving classes at that institution but, in 1786, just before his departure, he chose to remain in Madrid to attend to various projects at the Royal Printing Office.

[1] As an expert in chalcography and intaglio, he participated in several ambitious editorial projects; notably the edition of Don Quixote, published by Joaquín Ibarra in 1780, under the patronage of the Royal Spanish Academy.

He provided seven illustrations, the frontispiece for Part I, and some of the chapter and paragraph headings, after drawings by José del Castillo and Antonio Carnicero, among others.

This resulted in his being criticized for abandoning historical works in favor of technical ones, to which he replied that he would rather provide images of practical use than ones to "delight the frivolous".

[2] On behalf of the "Company for the Engraving of the King's Paintings", established in 1789, he reproduced works by Anthony van Dyck, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo and Guido Reni, among others.