Luis Paret y Alcazar
"Autorretrato" (1776)
"Autorretrato" (1776)
Painter. Paret y Alcázar has been recognized as the most accurate Spanish interpreter of French Rococo painting. After studying at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, he was appointed painter at the Court of King Carlos III in 1762. Banished to Puerto Rico for his bad behavior at the Court, he arrived on the island in 1775, where he remained until 1778. During the short period of his stay on the island he carried out commissions for the Mayor’s Office and played an important role in the education of our first great painter, José Campeche and Jordan, his only disciple. Among the works created in Puerto Rico his self-portrait, painted in 1776, stands out. Barefooted and dressed in the typical clothing of the Puerto Rican peasant, it was sent to King Carlos III so he would pity his situation and put an end to his exile.