In 1873, he received what would be his largest commission; painting 30 portraits of heroes from the War of Independence and other public figures for the "Salón Elíptico" at the Palacio Federal Legislativo, a project that would occupy him for two years. In 1881, he received another commission from President Antonio Guzmán Blanco; a large canvas depicting the signing of the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence, also for the "Salón Elíptico". The work was presented at the "Exposición Nacional de Venezuela" in 1883 and was awarded a gold medal. This resulted in further commissions to portray the battles of Carabobo, Boyacá, Junín and Ayacucho. After researching and sketching the battle sites, he set up a workshop in Paris, which he maintained from 1887 to the late 1890s, commuting between there and Caracas and doing more portraits as well as the battle scenes. He had finished only three of the battles when he died in 1902. The "Battle of Ayucucho" was completed by Antonio Herrera Toro, using Tovar's studies.