Death of Don Alfonso XII (the Last Kiss)
1887. Oil on canvas.On display elsewhere
At the foot of the modest bed where lies the corpse of the deceased monarch, are his confessor, Cardinal Benavides, and the Duke of Montpensier, standing among other personalities who can barely be distinguished in the gloom of the room. Next to the bedside stands his widow, Queen Maria Cristina of Habsburg-Lorraine, Alfonso XII´s second wife, dressed in mourning and wiping away her tears with a handkerchief. Next to her, can be seen her eldest daughter, the Infanta Maria de las Mercedes, and on the other side, the little Infanta Maria Teresa lifted by her mistress and gazing at her mother´s sorrowful face, joins the mortuary bed to give ´the last kiss´ to her dignified deceased father. On the bed are scattered numerous flowers, some of them fallen on the carpeted floor of the room. Alfonso XII died of tuberculosis on the 25th November 1885, at the age of 28, in the palace of El Pardo. Another title of these works is Últimos momentos del Rey don Alfonso XII (Last Moments of King Alfonso XII).
This is undoubtedly one of the clearest examples of opportunism from a painter, exploiting recent political circumstances and events for the subject of a composition submitted to national exhibitions, and calculated to gain favour with the official jury, the public and the critics. According to his signature, it was painted in Rome and completed in Madrid. It was awarded the 2nd medal at the 1887 National Exhibition. It was also acquired by the State for a high price, undoubtedly due to the emblematic nature of its subject.
