He was the eldest son of independence era general Marcos Maturana del Campo and Francisca Molinas Berben; Single and without offspring. He studied at the Núñez School in Santiago, Chile. On Saturday, July 2, 1844 at age 14 he entered the Military School.
Military career
On September 18, 1848 he was awarded the rank of Sub-Lieutenant of Artillery. On April 20, 1851, in the so-called Urriola mutiny he defended the headquarters of Artillery of Santiago, under the orders of his father. In this case, he was seriously injured in the chest. For his conduct in these events, he was granted the ascent of Captain, and later, in 1854, he was promoted to Sergeant Major In 1858 he had health problems and in 1861 he rejoined the army. In October of that year he was appointed first assistant of the General Inspection of the National Guard and in 1862 he became a lieutenant colonel. On September 25, 1865 he assumed as Commander of Arms of the Constitution and later on November 16 he was appointed Governor of the Constitution and participated in the war against Spain, defending the coast of the province of Talca. On February 28, 1866 he assumed as commander and organizer of the 11th Line Battalion and participated in the Araucanía campaigns. July 12, 1867 he was appointed by President José Joaquín Pérez, his Aide-de-camp. Later in 1869 he was Aide-de-camp of President Federico Errázuriz Zañartu and before the War of the Pacific he was Aide-de-camp of President Aníbal Pinto Garmendia. In 1868, he was a member of the Commission that repatriated the remains of the father of the Chilean homeland, General Bernardo O'Higgins. May 15, 1879, he was appointed General Director of the Maestranza and Artillery Park and on October 1, of the same year he was appointed Commander of the forts and batteries of Valparaíso. Shortly after he resumed command of the Maestranza de Santiago and it was his responsibility to quell the fire that occurred in these facilities on January 27, 1880.
Maturana General for years he dedicated himself to the acquisition of works of art such as ancient weapons, Inca archeological pieces, European porcelain, cologne items and paintings of different Chilean and foreign painters. On July 31, 1880, together with the Florentine Juan Mochi, the sculptor José Miguel Blanco and the young painter Enrique Swinburn Kirk, the beginnings of the National Museum of Paintings, which had been formed with 140 works of art. This museum was inaugurated on September 18, 1880, becoming part of the Chilean patriotic festivities of this year. He was a brave soldier with natural ability. He had served in the campaigns in which he participated, excelling in the war actions of 1851 and 1880, which made him ascend rapidly on the military staircase; this allowed him to occupy important military positions. He remained forever in Chilean memory as one of his war heroes. Art was his great passion and the "Institute of the Public Instruction Council" received the Maturana General Prize in 1882 that lasted until great economic depression of 1930.
