"During his first two years in Madrid, Rivera painted several landscapes and street scenes in the style of the great Salon paintings, in order to exhibit them at the Exposición de Bellas Artes in Madrid. Jardín Interior is probably a view of a corner of the gardens at El Pardo, near the Palace. It depicts the beautiful geometric design of the manicured shrubbery among monumental ancient trees. The tonality, spirit and mood of the painting are reminiscent of another early painting by Rivera, Paseo de Los Melancólicos, which he painted in Mexico before leaving for Spain. There are several obvious elements that link these two paintings such as perspective, and feeling along with color, although the latter is darker in Jardín Interior. Nevertheless, this painting already shows the influence of Rivera's contact with the prevailing Madrileñan esthetics (idealista y quietista) as well as the modernist experiments from his Avila period, which Rivera would later on elevate to a monumental level."
Ramón Favela, Santa Barbara. (op.cit)