In 1885, after failing to receive a Professorship at the "School of Arts and Crafts", he applied for and received a fellowship to study at the "Academia de España en Roma" but, two years later, was granted leave to study in Paris instead. At the Exposition Universelle (1889) he presented his now-famous painting "Expulsion of the Jews from Spain", only to discover that the French public apparently no longer appreciated historical works, so he presented it in Spain, where it was better received. In 1890, perhaps as a result of this experience, he abandoned that subject in favor of genre scenes, landscapes and illustrating.