Antonio Gonzalez Velazquez
Place Born
MadridPlace Died
MadridBio
The son of a respected sculptor, Pablo Gonzalez Velasquez, who decorated many of the periods churches in and around Madrid, Antonio Gonzalez Velasquez was apprenticed, at a young age to the painter Giaquinto Corrado. Gonzalez Velasquez fils gained early renown for the frescos he painted at the church of the Trinity in Castile and the painting, the Sacrifice of King David, for the Royal Academy in Madrid. In 1753, he painted the chapel of Our Lady of Pelier in the cathedral at Saragossa, afterwards returning to Madrid where he helped to complete the decoration of the interior of the dome in the church of the Incarnation. Around this time Gonzalez Velasquez also painted an Assumption scene in the Cathedral de Cuenca; he was subsequently named court painter, in 1757. Under that title, the artist executed a series of allegorical frescos on the ceiling of the kings antechamber, also painting a fresco representing Ferdinand and Isabella receiving the new world from the hands of Columbus in the palace. In addition to numerous decorative paintings, Gonzalez Velasquez painted royal portraits, particularly of his majesty Charles III. Named director of the Academy in 1765, Gonzalez Velasquez was the master to such well-known painters as Francesco Bayeu, friend and father-in-law to Goya.