 Meléndez, his brother José Agustín, and Ana, one of his sisters, began their careers under the tutelage of their father, who was appointed the King's Painter of Miniatures in 1725.After several years "painting royal portraits in jewels and bracelets to serve as gifts for envoys and ambassadors", he entered the workshop of Louis Michel van Loo (1707–1771), a Frenchman who had been made royal painter of Philip V. Between 1737 and 1742, Meléndez merely worked as a part of a team of artist dedicated to copy van Loo's prototypes of royal portraits for the domestic and overseas market but had a foothold in the palace.He had his artistic sights on a distinguished career as a court painter.