RAFAEL ROMERO BARROS (Moguer, 1832 - Cordoba, 1895),"The Slaughter of the Innocents, 1861.Oil on canvas.Signed and dated in the lower right corner.Measurements: 70 x 102 cm; 83 x 116 cm (frame).This beautiful Landscape with biblical scene and ruins is a beautiful exponent of the works of Romero Barros, with a marked neoclassicist tendency where the artist shows his wide academic background and his extensive knowledge about the Antiquity, describing faithfully the clothes of the characters as well as the architectural and landscape details, which serve us as references to place the scene in an exotic environment, without doubt a purely romantic resource. Rafael Romero Barros, father of the painter Julio Romero de Torres, studied at the University of Seville, where he received a solid humanistic grounding, studying Latin and philosophy from 1844 to 1847, and began his apprentice in painting with the Sevillian landscape painter Manuel Barrón and the brothers Valeriano and Gustavo Bécquer. At the age of thirty he went to Cordoba to direct the Museo Provincial de Pintura (Provincial Museum of Painting), the base of operations for his vast cultural promotion activities. In that city he founded the School of Music and the Provincial School of Fine Arts. His great sensitivity and exquisite training led him to take an interest in all facets of art, from Roman and Muslim archaeology to the latest exhibitions of his contemporaries. He published numerous articles in the daily press and in various specialised magazines. An art critic and archaeologist, he also directed the Archaeological Museum, whose collections he was responsible for enriching. Thanks to his efforts, the Synagogue of Cordoba and various monuments were saved, for which he was appointed member of the Monumentsmission of the province and member emeritus of the Archaeological Society of Barcelona. The long list of posts and distinctions he held is indicative of a life devoted to the promotion of history and art: he was an Academician of San Fernando, of the Academy of History, of the Academy of Sciences, Fine Arts and Noble Arts of Cordoba and of the Cordovan Economic Society. His very high cultural level, together with his perfect connection with social reality, led him to take an active part in the Asociación de Obreros Cordobeses, of which he was secretary until his death.Dimensions: 70 x 102 cm; 83 x 116 cm (frame).