The son of Luis Juárez, José was surely introduced to painting in his father's workshop. He has been considered by some to be the best painter of colonial Mexico. These claims are often accompanied by assertions that he must have received training in Spain.

Others consider that the presence of Sebastián López de Arteaga and of original works by Francisco de Zurbarán in New Spain would have been sufficient for someone of his talent to develop as he did. Juárez's works show the influence not only of Zurbarán but also of compositions by Peter Paul Rubens, known in New Spain through prints. Probably his best-known painting is a complex composition depicting martyrdom and glorification, Saints Justus and Pastor.