José Campeche


José Campeche y Jordán is the first known Puerto Rican visual artist and considered by art critics as one of the best Rococo artists in the Americas. Campeche y Jordán loved to use colors that referenced the landscape of Puerto Rico, as well as the social and political crème de la crème.

Early life

Campeche was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His parents were Tomás Campeche and María Jordán y Marqués. His father was a freed slave-born in Puerto Rico and his mother was a native of the Canary Islands, so he was therefore considered to be mulato. His father was a gilder who restored and painted religious statues, and had an influence on the young Campeche's interest in the arts. Campeche was trained by Luis Paret y Alcázar, a Spanish court painter banished from Spain.

Paintings

In addition to his public work on churches and chapels throughout the island, Campeche distinguished himself with his paintings related to religious themes and of governors and other important figures. His work forms part of the art collections in the Ponce Museum of Art and the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico in San Juan. Another large bulk of his work forms part of the [Teodoro Vidal|Teodoro Vidal Collection of Puerto Rican History] of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. His most famous paintings and his best known portraits are of:

Importance

Not only did the Puerto Rican society of the time appreciate Campeche's personal and artistic merits but he is now considered to be amongst the most gifted rococo artists in the Americas. His works of art can be found in museums, churches and chapels, such as Capilla del Cristo in San Juan, and in private collections in Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Campeche died in the city of San Juan on November 7, 1809.
José Campeche is also the namesake of Campechada, an annual cultural event dedicated to promotion and preservation of the arts, music and cultural heritage of Puerto Rico that was founded by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and has been celebrated since 2011.
High-resolution images of works of art from Puerto Rico's museums are being digitized and made available online with the help of the Institute, Google Arts & Culture, Lin Manuel Miranda and other stakeholders. 350 such works were available online by November 7, 2019 including many works by José Campeche.

Commemorations