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. == References ==