 After various changes of ownership, the house came into the possession of the Belgian Baron Emile d'Erlanger in 1874.After 70 years on the walls of Quinta del Sordo, the murals were deteriorating badly and, in order to preserve them, the new owner of the house had them transferred to canvas under the direction of Salvador Martínez Cubells, the chief art restorer at the Museo del Prado.After showing them at the Exposition Universelle of 1878 in Paris, d'Erlanger eventually donated them to the Spanish state.