Simón Bolívar, one of Pedro José Figueroa's portraits Pedro José Figueroa (1770–1836) was a Colombian portrait painter.

Early life

The portrait painter Pedro José Figueroa was born in 1770 in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

Viceroyalty of New Granada The Viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada ( ), also called Viceroyalty of New Granada or Viceroyalty of Santa Fe, was the name given on 27 May 1717 to the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire in northern South America, corresponding to modern ...

, where he later died on March 24, 1836. It is believed that he is a descendant of a family of artists first made famous during the 17th century. Figueroa received his first painting lessons at the studio of Pablo Antonio García. After completing his studies Figueroa founded his own painting studio where he taught various students including painter Garcia Hevia, the historian

José Manuel Goot José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

, and his own sons.

Works

Figueroa's first major work came in 1804 when he painted the Viceroy

Amar y Borbon Amar may refer to: People Given name * Amar (British singer) (born 1982), British Indian singer born Amar Dhanjal * Amar (Lebanese-Egyptian singer & actress) (born 1986), born Amar Mahmoud Al Tahech * Amar Bose (1929–2013), Founder of Bose Co ...

who was a widely popular figure at the time. In 1813 he painted the only known portrait of

Jose Domingo Duquesne Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean *Jose ben Halafta *Jo ...

and later published in “Papel Periodico Ilustrado”. In 1835 Figuroa touched up the famous painting of the “

Madonna of la Candelaria Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

” originally painted by

Francisco del Poza Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Commu ...

. Paintings of the

Quinta de Bolívar Quinta may refer to: * Quinta (estate) in Portugal * Quinta (musician), British multi-instrumentalist * In medieval music theory, alternative term for diapente (perfect fifth) * ''Quinta'' (skipper), genus of butterflies * Claudia Quinta, Roman ma ...

, Bolívar portraits, the painting of “La Santisima Trinidad” are currently housed in the Cathedral of Bogota which also the portraits of Brion, Canon Duquesne,

Fray Fernando del Portillo y Torres Fray or Frays or The Fray may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities *Fray, a phenomenon in Terry Pratchett's ''The Carpet People'' *Fray, the main character in the video games: **''Fray in Magical Adventure'' **''Fray CD'' ...

, and the archbishops and

Fernando Caicedo Florez Juan Bautista Sacristan Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, and former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia (like the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka). It is e ...

Legacy

While the work of Figueroa was not numerous, they are interesting in that the painting and the painter himself lived at a crucial time when a colony was being shaped into a republic. Figueroa's portraits give us a sense of who was important and influential to the period and place.

Sources

*Ricaurte, Dr. Carmen Ortega. “PEDRO JOSE FIGUEROA” ''Diccionario de artistas en Colombia'' 1ª Edición. < http://www.colarte.com/colarte/conspintores.asp?idartista=1011> {{DEFAULTSORT:Figueroa, Pedro Jose 1770 births 1838 deaths Viceroyalty of New Granada people Artists from Bogotá