Bernardo O'Higgins accepted the position instead, and became the leader of an independent Chile. He was granted dictatorial powers as Supreme Director on 16 February 1817. On 12 February 1818, Chile proclaimed itself an independent republic. Throughout the war with the royalists, O'Higgins had engaged in an ongoing feud with José Miguel Carrera. After their retreat in 1814, O'Higgins had fared much better than Carrera, who found little support forthcoming from San Martín, O'Higgins' political ally. Carrera was imprisoned to prevent his involvement in Chilean affairs; after his escape, he ended up taking the winning side in the Argentine Federalist war, helping
Bernardo Germán de Llórente painter. He declined the honor, preferring an independent life. In 1735, he was inducted into the Academia Real de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. Llorente was known for his trompe-l'œil still lifes, a genre that was quite popular in Andalusia at the time. An example is the at the Louvre. This composition contains several symbols of wine and taste. The engraving on the wall is signed by Pedro de Campolargo, a Flemish painter and engraver who worked first in Antwerp and then in Seville from 1640. The Latin inscriptions outline the rules of a pious life. Bernardo Germán de Llórente