Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velasquez
(June, 1599 – August 6, 1660)
Velasquez’s 1643 self-portrait
a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of
King Philip IV
an individualistic artist of the contemporary
baroque period, important as a portrait
artist(portraits of the Spanish royal family, other
notable European figures, and commoners)
Early Life
Velasquez was born in Seville, Andalusia early in June 1599.He was the
son of Juan Rodríguez de Silva, a lawyer of noble Portuguese descent, and
Jerónima Velázquez, a member of Seville's hidalgo class, an order of minor
aristocracy (it was a Spanish custom, in order to maintain a legacy of maternal
inheritance, for the eldest male to adopt the name of his mother)
He was educated by his parents to fear God and, intended for a learned
profession, received good training in languages and philosophy. But he showed an
early gift for art; consequently, he began to study under Francisco de Herrera, a
vigorous painter who disregarded the Italian influence of the early Seville school.
Velázquez remained with him for one year. It was probably from Herrera that he
learned to use brushes with long bristles. After leaving Herrera's studio when he
was 11 years old, Velázquez began to serve as an apprentice under the pedantic
Francisco Pacheco, an artist and teacher in Seville.
Velázquez remained in Pacheco's school for 5 years, studying proportion
and perspective and witnessing the trends in the literary and artistic circles of
Seville.
The birth of realism in Seville
Velázquez fell in love with Pacheco's daughter Juana, whom he married in 1618
with Pacheco's hearty approval. The young painter set himself to begin recreating in
his art common things—earthenware jars of the country people, birds, fish, fruit
and flowers of the marketplace. A notable piece from this early period of depicting
common Spanish life is An Old Woman Frying Eggs, 1618. By the early 1620s his
position and reputation were assured in Seville.
Velázquez produced other
notable works in this time.
Sacred subjects are depicted
in The Adoration of the
Magi,1619, and Christ and
the Pilgrims of Emmaus,
1626,both of which begin
An Old Woman Frying Eggs, 1618
to express his more pointed
and careful realism
The Adoration of the Magi, 1619
To Madrid
Velázquez went to Madrid in the 2nd half of
April 1622, with letters of introduction to Don
Juan de Fonseca, himself from Seville, who was
chaplain to the King.
December 1622, Velázquez the command to come
to the Court from the Count-Duke of Olivares, the
powerful minister of Philip IV. A portrait of the
King was commissioned. On August 16, 1623, the
King sat for Velázquez. Complete in one day the
portrait was likely to have been no more than a
head sketch, but both the King and Olivares were
pleased. Olivares commanded Velázquez to move
his home to Madrid, promising that no other
painter would ever paint the King's portrait and
all other portraits of the King would be
withdrawn from circulation.
A 1628 portrait of Philip IV
Phillip IV in
Armour, 1628
In September 1628 Rubens came to Madrid as an emissary
from the Infanta Isabella, and Velázquez kept his company.
Rubens was then at the height of his powers. The seven months of
the diplomatic mission showed Rubens' brilliance as painter and
courtier. Rubens had a high opinion of Velázquez, but he effected
no great change in his painting. He reinforced Velázquez's desire to
see Italy and the works of the great Italian masters.
In 1627, Philip set a competition for the best
painters of Spain. Velázquez won. His picture was
destroyed in a fire at the palace in 1734. Velázquez
was appointed gentleman usher as reward
1629, The Feast of Bacchus. The painting is firm and
solid, and the light and shade are more deftly handled
than in former works. Altogether, this production
may be taken as the most advanced example of the
first style of Velázquez.
The Feast of Bacchus, 1628/29
Velázquez's Italian period
First visit to Italy
In 1629 he sailed from Barcelona
In Venice Velázquez made copies of Tintoretto's Crucifixion and Last Supper
which he sent to the king, and in Rome he copied Michelangelo and Raphael,
lodging in the Villa Medici till fever compelled him to retire into the city. Here
he painted The Forge of Vulcano,1630
The Forge of Vulcano, 1630
In Rome Velázquez also painted two beautiful landscapes of the gardens of the
Villa Medici. Landscape was uncommon in Spanish art, but Velázquez showed
how capable he was in this branch as well .
Villa Medici in Rome (Pavilion of Ariadne),
1630
Villa Medici in Rome (Facade of the Grotto-Logia
Then a visit to Naples in 1631, where he worked with his
countryman José Ribera and painted a charming portrait of the
Infanta Maria, sister of Philip, Velázquez returned early in the year
to Madrid
Infanta Maria, Later Queen of
Hungary
Return to Madrid (middle period)
The Surrender of Breda, 1634-35, was inspired by Velázquez's first visit
to Italy, in which he accompanied Ambrosio Spínola, who conquered the Dutch
city of Breda a few years prior. This masterwork depicts a transfer of the key to
the city from the Dutch to the Spanish army.
The powerful minister Olivares was the early and constant patron of the
painter. During Olivares’fall from power, Velasquez was loyal to his patron,
exposing himself to the great risk of the anger of the jealous Philip. The king,
however, showed no sign of malice towards his favorite painter
Velázquez was in constant and close attendance on Philip,
accompanying him in his journeys to Aragon in 1642 and 1644, and was
doubtless present with him when he entered Lerida as a conqueror
Velázquez's portraiture
Besides the forty portraits of Philip by Velázquez, he painted portraits
of other members of the royal family: Philip's first wife, Isabella of Bourbon, and
her children, especially her eldest son, Don Baltasar Carlos, of whom there is a
beautiful full-length in a private room at Buckingham Palace
Prince Baltasar Carlos
with a Dwarf, 1631
Religious paintings
The greatest of the religious paintings by Velázquez also belongs to this
middle period, Christ on the Cross, 1632. It is a work of tremendous
originality, depicting Christ immediately after death. The Savior's head hangs
on his breast and a mass of dark tangled hair conceals part of the face
Christ on the Cross,
1631
Second Visit to Italy
Accompanied by his slave Pareja, whom he trained in painting,
Velázquez sailed to Italy.He bought paintings of Titian, Tintoretto and
Veronese as he went. At Modena he was received with much favor by the
duke, and here he painted the portrait of the duke at the Modena gallery
and two portraits that now adorn the Dresden gallery, for these paintings
came from the Modena sale of 1746.
Those works presage the advent of the painter's third and latest
manner, a noble example of which is the great portrait of Pope Innocent X
in the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome, where Velázquez now proceeded.
1650 portrait of Pope Innocent X
In 1650 in Rome Velázquez also painted a portrait of his servant,
Juan de Pareja, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York City
Juan de Pareja, 1650
Return to Spain (later period)
King Philip
wished that Velázquez
return to Spain. Yet
far from indicating any
decline, his works of
this period are amongst
the highest examples of
his style.
Margarita, the
eldest daughter of the
new Queen, is the
subject of The Maids of
Honor, 1656.Created
four years before his
death, it is a staple of
the European baroque
period of art
Final years
Had it not been for this royal appointment, which
enabled Velázquez to escape the censorship of the Inquisition,
he would not have been able to release his Venus at her Mirror,
1651, also known as The Rokeby Venus. It is the only
surviving female nude by Velázquez
Venice at her Mirror, 1651
One of his final works was The Spinners, painted around 1657,
representing the interior of the royal tapestry works.
Starting in the 1st quarter of the 19th century, Velázquez's
artwork proved a model for the realist and impressionist painters, in
particular Édouard Manet. Since that time, more modern artists,
including Spain's Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí, have paid
tribute to Velázquez by recreating several of his most famous works
Sources:
Velasquez’s 1643 self-portrait
(http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazquez.html)
An Old Woman Frying Eggs, 1618
(http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazquez7.html)
The Adoration of the Magi, 1619
(http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazquez11.html)
A 1628 portrait of Philip IV
(http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazquez64.html)
Phillip IV in Armour, 1628
(http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazquez21.html)
The Feast of Bacchus, 1628/29
(http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazquez14.html)
The Forge of Vulcano, 1630
(http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazquez16.html)
Sources:
Villa Medici in Rome (Pavilion of Ariadne), 1630
http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazq
uez18.html
Villa Medici in Rome (Facade of the GrottoLogia)
http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazq
uez19.html
Infanta Maria, Later Queen of Hungary
(http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velaz
quez22.html)
Prince Baltasar Carlos with a Dwarf, 1631
(http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velaz
quez25.html)
Christ on the Cross, 1631
(http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velaz
quez69.html)
Sources:
1650 portrait of Pope Innocent X
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Vel%C3%A1zquez)
Juan de Pareja, 1650
(http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazquez44.html)
Las Meninas, 1656
(http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazquez48.html)
Venice at her Mirror, 1651
(http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazquez50.html)
The Spinners, 1657
(http://www.ssga.ru/erudites_info/art/velasces/pict/7_55_1.jpg)
Text:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Vel%C3%A1zquez
2. http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazquez.html