Cruz Vázquez, Manuel de la

A student at the Academia de San Fernando starting in 1767, he held the position of court painter for the Infante Louis of Spain, brother of Charles III, King of Spain, until 1785. In 1789, he was named an academic of merit at the Madrid institution. He produced paintings with views of the Cartagena port (National Heritage and private collection) and participated in the set of altarpieces commissioned by Charles III for the decoration of the church of San Francisco el Grande in Madrid. Inspired by the sainetes (single-act comedic sketches) written by his uncle, the writer Ramón de la Cruz, he produced a series of street scenes, including the Market in the Plaza de la Cebada from 1790. This is a composition in which Cruz accurately characterises the noisy atmosphere of the town, its vendors, merchants, and walkers. His works also include the series on popular types kept by the Museo Municipal in Madrid and half of the famous series of 81 engravings that make up the "Collection of costumes from Spain" which was put up for sale in 1777 (Reuter, A. in E.M.N.P., Madrid, 2006, volume 3, p. 885).