José Campeche's Nativity from 1800
Speaker: Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank
The most famous Puerto Rican artist?
The Puerto Rican artist José Campeche y Jordán creates a tender Nativity painting focused on an intimate group of Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. With only a few background details, Campeche transforms a quiet, tender moment into something radiant and deeply devotional. Campeche was an Afro-Caribbean artist and the most important painter of 18th-century Puerto Rico. This video examines this artwork closely to better understand this important subject in Christian art and Campeche as an artist.
José Campeche y Jordán, Nativity, 1800, oil. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Photo: © Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank
Video chapters
0:00 Puerto Rican artist José Campeche y Jordán
1:06 The Nativity
1:55 Campeche's approach to painting
2:57 Rococo influences and patronage
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