He continued to focus on portraits, however, and participated in several exhibitions, including the International Exposition (1867) in Paris. Two years later, he was appointed Director of the "Academia de Bellas Artes" in Caracas.[1] In 1872, he exhibited at the "Primera Exposición Anual de Bellas Artes Venezolanas", organized by the explorers James Mudie Spence (1836–1878)[4] and Anton Goering (who was also a painter).