"The year of famine in Madrid", a work by José Aparicio dating from 1818, is a monumental painting measuring 315 × 437 cm. Largely unknown to the general public today, it once commanded all attention at the Museum, where it came to eclipse figures such as Francisco de Goya and José de Madrazo during the reign of Ferdinand VII.

Acclaimed in its day as a major artistic milestone, praised in the press, reproduced in prints, and celebrated in songs and poems, this history painting also functioned as a political instrument. The reconstruction of its original placement in the Museo del Prado in 1819—when it became one of the institution’s principal icons, taking precedence over works now regarded as indisputable masterpieces such as "Las Meninas"—reveals the ideological toll imposed by the absolutism of Ferdinand VII.

On display until 13 September in Room 66 of the Museo del Prado.