José de Madrazo y Agudo (22 April 1781 – 8 May 1859) was a Spanish painter and engraver; one of the primary exponents of the Neoclassical style in Spain.

In 1812, King Carlos IV arrived in Rome and brought Madrazo into his circle, also buying La muerte de Lucrecia, a painting he had rejected only a few years previously.

[2] He lost this position in 1815 when the troops of Joachim Murat entered the Papal States in an effort to unify Italy under French control, prompting King Carlos to abandon his exile.

[1] He died in Madrid, aged 78, having amassed a large private art collection, which later passed into the hands of the Marqués de Salamanca and, after his death in 1883, became dispersed.

[3] Madrazo focused on religious and historical themes and, together with José Aparicio, helped to establish a movement devoted to patriotic art.