Juan Lovera

Juan Lovera (11 July 1776, Caracas - 29 January 1841, Caracas) was a Venezuelan painter, best known for his portraits and historical scenes relating to his country's independence movement.

Biography His father was the Chandler of Caracas Cathedral and he received his first art lessons at the Dominican convent of San Jacinto. Later, he was apprenticed to Antonio José Landaeta (?-?), one of a family of influential Baroque painters in 18th-Century Caracas. By 1799, he had his own workshop, where two of his first portrait sitters were Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland.

His last years were devoted almost entirely to teaching. One of his most prominent students was Pedro Lovera (1826-1914), who was long believed to be his son, but may have been his nephew. He was also a professor at the drawing academy. The Caracas art society, founded after his death in 1841, was partly inspired as a way of honoring his memory.