In 1887 obtained a grant to study painting in the Fine Arts Academy in Rome, where he painted in 1890 "Heart's Anatomy"; a painting that would bring him international recognition and which won him several prizes. Taking advantage of his stay Simonet traveled throughout Italy, visited Paris several times and in 1890 he made a tour of the Mediterranean. He also traveled to the Holy Land, where he painted his monumental work "Flevit super illam"; work for which he received numerous medals including Madrid in 1892, Chicago in 1893, Barcelona in 1896 and Paris in 1900. In 1893 and 1894 Simonet traveled to Morocco as a war correspondent for the magazine "La Ilustración Española y Americana".