Abused and raped by their husbands the Counts of Carrión, the daughters of El Cid –Doña Elvira and Doña Sol– were abandoned, bound and semi-naked, in a forest. In the background, the aggressors can be seen fleeing into a clearing. This episode, inspired by one of the most dramatic passages in the Romance del Cid, was very popular amongst nineteenth-century history painters, for the opportunity it provided for displaying their mastery of the nude. Puebla’s composition is particularly notable for the delicate nuances of the flesh tones and the soft shaping of the bodies contrasts with the clearly drawn folds of the cloths with which they cover themselves.

This, and the refined sense of color recall some works by the baroque painter, Orazio Gentileschi, which Dióscoro Puebla saw in Rome and even at the Prado Museum. This work also shares the same unhurried feeling, despite the dramatic subject matter, as well as rich colors and balance, which also makes it quite similar to great sixteenth-century Venetian painting.

This work was shown at the National Exhibition of 1871 but received no prize at all, despite the fact that its quality was later recognized by the critics.