He was born in
Zarzalejo, the son of
Gaetano Palmaroli, an Italian painter and
lithographer, who was his first teacher. After his father's death in 1853, he took over his official position at the royal art collections. He requested leave in 1857 to go to Rome and complete his education, using some surplus money from the collection fund. After his return to the Court, he won a Gold Medal at the National Exhibition of 1867. That same year, he accompanied the Spanish delegation to the
Exposition Universelle in Paris. A year later, he settled in Paris and specialized in creating "tableautins"; small format paintings on amusing or pleasant themes designed to be hung in the home. In 1883, he moved to Rome to become Director of the . He returned to Madrid in 1894 when he was appointed Director of the
Museo del Prado, a position he would hold until his death. Following a Royal directive, he set up a commission (consisting of himself, the Secretary and the museum's curators) to examine donated works and decide whether to accept or reject them, pursuant to maintaining the quality of the collection. He also oversaw maintenance, which included replacing the wooden roofs with metallic ones. A planned heating system was cancelled due to lack of funds. To help prevent fires, the employee's living quarters were moved to a new extension, built under the direction of architect
Fernando Arbós y Tremanti. Most of the works added to the Prado during his tenure were later moved to the collection at the new
Museo de Arte Moderno. He suffered a stroke while attending a theatrical performance, became an invalid, and died several months later in
Madrid, aged 61. ==See also==