Juan de Madrazo

In what may have been an effort to stand out, he chose architecture over painting; becoming an apprentice at the Palacio Real de Madrid; under the direction of Domingo Lafuente, the official Palace Architect.

After obtaining his degree in 1852, he held a Chair at the "School of Construction Masters" in Valencia, where he taught composition and legal issues.

In 1855, he became involved in an ambitious project to renovate the Puerta del Sol, but it never came to fruition.

Many restoration projects were placed under his direction; perhaps the best known being the exterior decorations on the Church of Las Calatravas.

[1] He performed similar work on the León Cathedral, for which he was posthumously awarded a medal of honor at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in 1881.