José Madrazo y Agudo

1781 Santander – 1859 Madrid

The painter and etcher, José Madrazo y Agudo, studied under Jacques Louis David in Paris. From 1803 to 1819 he lived and worked in Rome, where he was admitted to the Accademia di S. Luca in 1813. After returning to Spain, Madrazo became a professor at the newly founded Madrid Art Academy in 1823. Five years later he was appointed director of the Galeria del Museo del Rey (later Museo del Prado), where he prepared its first official catalogue. He seems to have maintained close ties with the German artists in Rome. In 1808 he painted a portrait of Karoline von Humboldt and Hereditary Prince August von Oldenburg.