Cooke made numerous trips throughout Europe and North Africa. In 1860, in company with Robert Bateman, he undertook a journey around Spain towards Tangier. A new, more luminous quality began to pervade the colours in his work. The light of the Mediterranean can be seen even in his pencil sketches, which show clarity and the sense of exoticism that Spain awakened in European travellers.

After staying first at Barcelona and Tarragona, Cooke and Bateman went to Tortosa in order to take the stagecoach to Valencia. From here they made a detour to Madrid where they met John Phillip R.A., who was also travelling and painting in Spain. Cooke recorded their delight at the collections in Madrid of works by Velázquez, Titian and Veronese and also enthused about the collections of the Royal Armoury, making some sketches there. After returning to Valencia they continued to Alicante.

This drawing, inscribed ‘El Aguadero. Valencia. 10. Nov. 1860’, was made just before the detour to Madrid, and demonstrates Cooke’s concern to record every aspect of characteristic Spanish life and scenery. It is a sensitive study of a mule, a common sight in 19th-century Spain, laden with two-handled jars for carrying water.