José de Madrazo y Agudo

Who was José de Madrazo y Agudo?

José de Madrazo y Agudo was a Spanish painter of the Neoclassic period. He was the father of Federico de Madrazo.

Born in Santander, he studied in Madrid with Cosme de Acuña and Gregorio Ferro, both rectors of the Academia de San Fernando at the beginning of the 19th century. Fernando La Serna, who was named ambassador to France at the time, brought Madrazo to Paris, where he entered the studio of Jacques-Louis David. There, under royal patronage from King Carlos IV, he executed a painting of the Death of Lucretia and other canvases on events from classic Greco-Roman history. He moved to Rome during Napoleonic times, where he was briefly jailed for failing to complete oaths of loyalty to the newly installed Napoleon II of France as King of Rome. In Rome, he was admitted to the Accademia di San Luca.

King Carlos IV named him pintor de cámara, a position confirmed by King Ferdinand VII. In 1818, he returned to Spain, where he was named director of "color and composition" for the Academy of San Fernando. With the Marqués de Santa Cruz, Madrazo helped establish the Prado Museum and was its director from 1838 to 1851. He died in Madrid.