Amalia Avia is one of the most representative practitioners of the group of Spanish realist artists who trained at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts of Madrid. While she engaged with differing aesthetics and techniques promulgated by the avant-gardes, she never relinquished its signs of identity and its way of turning everyday elements into the object of creation. Since their time together at the school the members of the group were to remain long-lasting friends: Carmen Laffón (1934), the López Hernández brothers, Isabel Quintanilla (1938-2017), Antonio López (1936) and María Moreno (1933-2020). Also at the school Avia met her future husband, Lucio Muñoz (1929-1998), whom she married in 1960.

This is one of many panoramic views of the streets of Madrid painted by Avia. Apart from depictions of street corners where time has left its mark, Avia also painted views of some of the most singular buildings in the axis formed by the two avenues, Paseo del Prado and Paseo de la Castellana.

Although these works also contain a tinge of the sadness and melancholy permeating her vision of the city, it is not as evident as in other pieces. This is probably due to the fact that these are more official and representative images, and also because the greater care invested in those public buildings prevented any outward sign of deterioration.

The painting shows the railings on the corner of Paseo de Recoletos with calle Salustiano Olózaga, with the Palace of the Marquis of Salamanca behind. Executed with highly precise draughtsmanship, Avia uses ochre and grey tones to instil greater realism into an urban atmosphere that seems to have come to a halt.