Giuseppe Velasco

Giuseppe Velasco (1750-1827) was a prominent Sicilian neoclassical painter. He changed his surname in homage to the painter Diego Velázquez. He collaborated with the architect Marvuglia on works such as the Palazzo Costantino and the Palazzina Cinese in Palermo. Between 1785 and 1790, he worked with Léon Dufourny at the Botanical Garden school. Favored by the Bourbons, he received important commissions and became the artistic director of the Royal University of Palermo in 1805. A student of Mercurio and Tresca, he painted mythological works and portraits of the Bourbons using techniques such as black and white and fresco painting.