20^th Century Spanish
 
This painter from Madrid inherited his interest in art from his father, the Asturias-born painter Joaquín Vaquero Palacios. He trained in Rome, where he became familiar with the creation of fresco paintings, stained glass and mosaics.

His practice followed a rigorous and schematic style, with classicist subject matters influenced by his time spent in Rome, as well as portraits and regional themes. He excelled particularly in mural painting, although he also was an expert easel painter.

In the 1990s his style changed radically: he abandoned figuration in favour of an abstract aesthetics, although thematically maintaining an evocation of the Roman murals that defined much of his career.

He obtained a number of distinctions, including a Gold Medal at the 1957 Salzburg Biennial or the Medal of the Italian Senate in 1959. In 1998 he was appointed an academician of the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts.