This portrait of Félix Máximo López Crespo (1742 - 1821), the first organist of the Royal Chapel and a notable musician and composer, was commissioned by his eldest son, Ambrosio López.

A formal work that emphasizes the sitter's category through a series of details, especially the red and blue uniform of his job at the palace, the braid on the cuffs of his dress coat that indicate his status in the Royal Household, and the orchestra director's baton he bears on his right arm.

The affected and polished technique employed here is characteristic of López and is complemented by the lighting. Rather than being frontal, as was customary, it comes from above, giving the sitter a romantic, melancholy and spiritual air.

Unlike what customarily happened in works by other painters, the score the organist holds is perfectly recognizable here. It bears the first new chords of a piece called “Obra de los locos/Primera parte/All[egr]o Mo[dera]to”.

This work was purchased from Pablo Bosch for the Prado Museum by Royal Order of 20 June 1879.