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Pradilla was commissioned by the Senate to produce this work following the success of his painting Doña Joanna the Mad, which had won medals of honor at both the National Exhibition of Fine Arts of 1878 and the Spanish section of the Universal Exposition in Paris that same year.It was commissioned to reproduce the capture of Granada by the Catholic Monarchs at the end of the Reconquista, an event that was to be seen as a "representation of Spanish unity" and "a starting point for the great deeds carried out by our grandparents under those glorious sovereigns", according to the indications of the then president of the institution, Marquis Manuel García Barzanallana. The canvas was to be installed in the Senate Conference Room, which was planned to be decorated with paintings and statues of prominent figures in Spanish history.
The result was not as successful as Doña Joanna the Mad, and it did not participate in any national exhibition. However, it was one of Pradilla's greatest professional successes and its wide public acclaim brought him fame even beyond the borders of the country. It was first presented in Rome, where Padilla was heading the Spanish Academy, and later in the Senate, where Alfonso XII went to see the work.After the painting was completed Alfonso XII awarded Pradilla the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic and the Senate paid the painter 50,000 pesetas, double the amount initially agreed upon.
Alfonso XII Universal Exposition in Paris Order of Isabella the Catholic Manuel García Barzanallana the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Spanish Spanish Academy Doña Joanna the Mad National Exhibition of Fine Arts Marquis Manuel García Barzanallana Reconquista