José Villegas Cordero (* August 26, 1844 in Seville; † November 9, 1921 in Madrid) was not only one of the most important painters at the turn of the century in Spain, for seventeen years he was also director of the world-famous Museo del Prado in Madrid.

After finishing his studies in Seville, he first worked in the studio of Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz in Madrid, and also copied works by the famous Velázquez in the Museo del Prado, whose art had a decisive influence on him. After a trip to Morocco, Villegas went to Rome at the end of 1868. From sketches made in Morocco, he painted, among other things, wonderfully colorful oriental scenes like this one.