Print this page
José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza does not have an image.
José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza
Mexican
(Merida, Yucatan, 1750 - 1802, New Orelans, LA)
José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza is considered to be the first portrait painter in New Orleans. Born in Yucatan, Mexico, Salazar studied at the Academy in Mexico City, but moved to New Orleans in 1782. Both he and his wife became artists in the city, and their children assisted in the studio.
Salazar went on to paint many of Colonial Louisiana's prominent citizens, government and military figures, and clergymen, although he is not known to have painted in other cities in the U.S. before his death in 1802. Well-versed in the late Baroque style popular in Spanish colonies, Salazar was the first significant painter to work in New Orleans.
