José Campeche

José Campeche y Jordán (December 23, 1751 – November 7, 1809) 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 (1701–1780) 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 . 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 (MAP) and the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico (MAPR) in San Juan. Another large bulk of his work forms part of the Teodoro Vidal Collection of Puerto Rican History of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. His most famous paintings and his best known portraits are of:

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 There is a "José Campeche room" in the former Dominican Convent (today part of the Galería Nacional) in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, where some of his works can be seen.. Puerto Rico has various schools and avenues named after Campeche to honor his memory. The José Campeche High School is located in San Lorenzo. Manuel Gregorio Tavárez composed a funeral march "Redención" in Campeche's honor. Puerto Rican graphic artist Lorenzo Homar also created a work of art commemorating Campeche. Campeche is buried in the San José Church in Old San Juan.