In 1852 the Board of Directors of the Banco Español de San Fernando commissioned José Gutiérrez de la Vega, one of the most renowned artists of the time, to paint a portrait of its then governor Ramón de Santillán (Lerma, Burgos, 1791 - Madrid, 1863), thus reinstating a custom that had been lost at the end of the 18th century with the fall from grace of Francisco de Cabarrús. The portrait was commissioned as a gesture of thanks to and recognition of a figure who had played a key role in the merger between the Banco de Isabel II and the Banco de San Fernando. That merger was not achieved without tension, but it left the resulting institution stronger when it took its current name of Banco de España in 1856.

Paid for by the directors and deputy governors, the portrait of Ramón de Santillán was intended to hang permanently in the boardroom of the Banco de España as "a token of the Bank's gratitude for the fine services rendered and an example of the path to be followed by governors who aspire to renown". It has been there ever since, though in the last few months it has been removed temporarily to take part in the exhibition 2328 reales de vellón. This exhibition looks at the origins of the Banco de España's art collection and features works spanning almost 80 years. Ramón de Santillán is the bank's longest serving governor: his mandate ran from 1849 to 1863, placing him at the end of the period featured.

_{José Gutiérrez de la Vega: Ramón de Santillán (1852)}

As Treasury Minister, Santillán was instrumental in bringing about the merger between the Banco de Isabel II and the Banco de San Fernando, and in 1849 he was appointed governor of the resulting bank, known as the Banco Español de San Fernando. During his mandate, which was cut short only by his death, he first carried out an extensive financial restructuring based on the structure of the Bank of France, then worked to strengthen and expand the institution. His biographers stress that in this he always remained relatively independent of political power and based his actions on his own deeply-held reformist convictions.

His appointment as Governor of the Banco Español de San Fernando came after a brilliant civil service career in the exchequer, with two spells as Treasury Minister in 1840 and 1847. He became a civil servant in the 1820s, having spent the years from 1808 to 1825 in the army, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He worked closely with Alejandro Mon y Menéndez and played a major role in the great tax reform of 1845, known as the "Mon-Santillán Reform", which set up Spain's first modern taxation system.

It was in 1847, during his second mandate as Treasury Minister, that the decision was made to merge the Banco de San Fernando (the successor of the Banco de San Carlos) and the Banco de Isabel II, which had been set up a few years previously at the initiative of financier José de Salamanca. It was the latter who, having taken over from Santillán as minister following a government crisis, eventually signed the decree authorising the merger, but when the first governor came to be appointed in 1849, Santillán was chosen. He maintained his position when the bank took its current name of Banco de España.

_{Books by Ramón de Santillán}

Towards the end of his career Santillán also earned renown as an essayist. In Memoria histórica sobre los bancos Nacional de San Carlos, Español de San Fernando, Isabel II, Nuevo de San Fernando, y de España [“Historical memoir on the Banco Nacional de San Carlos, Banco Español de San Fernando, Banco de Isabel II and Banco de España”], he produced a thorough historical analysis of the institution from its origins as the Banco de San Carlos to its transformation into the Banco de España; and his longer essay Memoria histórica de las reformas hechas por el sistema general de impuestos de España y de su administración desde 1845 hasta 1854 [“Historical memoir of the reforms in the general tax system of Spain, 1845-1854”] is described by Elena Serrano García as "one of the best studies of the exchequer published in the 19th century". He also wrote an autobiography that ran from his humble origins to his years in charge of the country's biggest financial institution.

In the portrait by José Gutiérrez de la Vega (b. Seville, 1791 - d. Madrid, 1863), commissioned by the Bank, he is holding a book in his right hand, Perhaps in allusion to his renown as a writer. In this portrait Santillán is shown seated, wearing the uniform of a gentleman in waiting and the two highest civilian decorations that can be awarded in Spain: the great crosses and sashes of the orders of King Charles III and Queen Isabella the Catholic. Carlos González Navarro writes that Gutiérrez de la Vega's "careful, light, flowing brush-strokes" give the picture an elegant, sumptuous feeling reminiscent of the works of Murillo and of Goya, two artists whom he greatly admired. The feeling of sumptuousness is enhanced by the background, with its blend of architecture and nature, and by the calm, distinguished pose of the sitter. González Navarro describes this as one of the finest portraits ever produced by Gutiérrez de la Vega, who by the way was born in the same year as Santillán.