Rafael Díaz de Benjumea studied at the Santa Isabel Fine Arts Academy in Seville and specialised in portraits. He worked for the Duke and Duchess of Montpensier in 1849 and submitted his works to the San Fernando Academy and national exhibitions in 1850, 1851, 1856 and 1864, although he was only awarded an honorary mention. He was appointed to the post of Court Painter and recorded court events in which he portrayed groups of the most important dignitaries.  In 1873, he sued the deposed Isabella II of Spain for failing to pay for The Presentation and Baptism of Prince Alfonso, which he had painted ten years earlier. He was also appointed as Commander of the Order of Isabella I of Castile and Knight of Carlos III and of the Holy Sepulchre.

• Julián Gállego Serrano
• María José Alonso

Francisco Santa Cruz Pacheco was one of the first young defenders of the ideas of the 1812 Cadiz Constitution and joined the political struggle by enlisting in the National Militia in 1820. When absolute rule was restored in 1823, he fled to Griegos in the Sierra de Albarracín (Teruel), where he ran his own businesses and made a huge agricultural fortune thanks to disentailment. In 1851, he stood for the Partido Progresista [Progressive Party] and was elected as the member of parliament for the Albarracín district for the first time. He was part of Espartero’s progressive government as Minister of Governance between July 1854 and July 1855 and Minister for the Treasury in 1856 between February and July. In 1857, he joined the Liberal Union Party, formed by O’Donnell, as did the majority of the former members of the Progressive Party. In 1858, he was appointed Chairman of the Court of Auditors and, shortly afterwards made a lifetime senator. His intense parliamentary activity continued until the 1868 Revolution. He succeeded Ramón Santillán as Governor of the Banco de España, a post he would hold from November 1863 to April 1866. He was a member of the 1869 Constituent Assembly, defending advanced ideas, and supported the legitimacy of Amadeo de Saboya. Santa Cruz Pacheco was appointed leader of the Senate in 1872. He became a supporter of the Bourbon Restoration and joined the ranks of Cánovas’s Conservative Party, which was the driving force behind the restoration. As a lifetime senator, he remained highly active in the Upper Chamber until his death.

Elena Serrano García