José Capelo

José Capelo Blanco
Born	Template:Birth year and age Spain
Occupation	Banker
Known for	Connection with British painter Francis Bacon

José Capelo Blanco (born January 1956) is a banker from Spain, primarily recognized for his connection with the British painter Francis Bacon. Capelo served as the model for Bacon's 1987 work Portrait of José Capelo as well as the Triptych 1991. Prior to Bacon's passing in 1992, he presented Capelo with several paintings and a monetary gift of US$4 million, a choice Bacon later expressed regret over.

The initial encounter between Capelo and Bacon took place in 1988 at an event organized by British choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton. In 2014, recordings made public after Bacon’s death disclosed that Bacon had developed romantic feelings for Capelo and engaged in a relationship described by the Art Gallery of New South Wales as his "final passionate affair," although Capelo refuted claims of any romantic connection.

Ownership of the 1987 portrait belongs to the Swiss institution Galerie Gmurzynska. In July 2015, five paintings by Bacon, with an estimated worth near €30 million, were stolen from Capelo’s residence located in Madrid’s Plaza de la Encarnación. By July 2017, three of these artworks had been retrieved within Spain, and a fourth piece titled Study for a Portrait of Jose Capelo was recovered in May 2024.