On 23 November 1802, he enrolled in the drawing class of the Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro, for which Domingos Francisco Vieira was a substitute teacher.

On 8 May 1815, Rafael married again, this time with Margarida Emília, daughter of the artist Manuel Moreira da Silva, said to be the best ornamental carver in Porto.

In nearby Braga he worked for the Benedictine Monastery of São Martinho de Tibães, producing portraits of the abbots.

He was appointed First Painter of the Chamber and Court, on 20 June 1825, a position that had remained vacant since the death of Vieira Portuense in 1805, and master of historical drawing of the Academy of Fine Arts in 1836.

Wax was widely used in artists' workshops to cast bronze, or to design pictorial compositions with numerous characters, but it was rarely used for formal busts of such important people.