Federico Beltrán Masses is a renowned painter who trained in Madrid and Barcelona, where he was a disciple of Joaquín Sorolla. From beginnings that capture the essence of a whole series of Spanish artists, he evolved towards a representation of the rural world wrapped in tragic naturalism. In 1910, his style consolidated through the use of allegorical compositions loaded with symbolism, in which female and male portraits overflow with sensuality and beauty, while at the same time becoming obscured by a perverse, decadent spectre. He was member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid and received numerous awards such as Knight of the Order of Malta and Commander of the Legion of Honour (1927).