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Diego Velazquez (DYAY goe və LASS kess) was born in Seville in the country of Spain. When he was about thirteen years old he was apprenticed to a painter, Francisco Herrera, but the man was such a tyrant Diego only stayed with him for a year. He next went as an apprentice to Francisco Pacheco who was very kind and helpful to him. He worked for him five years, then married Pacheco's daughter, Juana, who gave him two daughters.
With his family and his father-in-law, Pacheco, he visited Madrid where he was asked to paint the portrait of King Philip IV of Spain who was 18 years old. The Spanish king was so pleased, he asked Velazquez to move to Madrid with his family and work exclusively for the royal family. He was the favorite of the king's four painters. For the next forty years he and his family lived with the king. Even his mother and father lived with them. He painted at least 20 pictures of the king in all kinds of clothing.
The king had a chair in the artist's studio so he could sit and watch him paint. Velazquez used a long-handled brush so he could see how his brush strokes looked from a distance away from the canvas.
Our featured work in this lesson has been named Las Meninas. The "meninas" were the young daughters of noblemen's families who waited on the young princess who was called an "infanta". The young girl is serving the princess something in a cup. The artist with the brush in his hand is, of course, Velazquez. His special clothing shows he is a knight. If you look at the reflection in the mirror, you can see the king and queen who are apparently posing while the artist paints their picture.
Las Meninas really has two subjects. One is the subject the artist is painting and then we also see the main characters in the room.
He painted several pictures of dwarfs such as the figures you see at the right of the picture. These were the court jesters who entertained the king and his family.
Velazquez also was in charge of buying things for the royal family. He bought art work and furniture. He was in charge of planning and decorating for social events. He helped the king keep the household running smoothly. The king was so appreciative he made him a Knight of the Order of Santiago. This was a very high honor for a nobleman in Spain.
The Surrender of Breda shows the Dutch commander handing over the keys to the town to Spinola who was the Spanish army general. In Spain the painting was called The Lances . The lances you see sticking up in the background indicate there is a large army gathered there. Learn more about the painting here
The painting of the young girl who was betrothed as a baby to Prince Leopold is titled The Infant Margarite .
Prince Baltasar Carlos was the son of King Philip IV and heir to the Spanish throne.
The Surrender
of BredaEnlarged view
The Infant
MargariteEnlarged view
Prince Baltasar Carlos
on HorsebackEnlarged view
Velazquez painted religious scenes in his early career and painted this scene of Christ Crucified . The words at the top of the cross are written in Greek, Latin and Hebrew and mean "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews". John 19.
The picture of Old Woman Poaching Eggs was of a type known as a "bodegón" which is Spanish for "pantry" or "tavern". They were usually still-life pictures in a kitchen setting.
The third painting is of Aesop, the Greek slave who wrote the fables back in 600 B.C. It is said that Aesop spoke up on behalf of the "ugly" and of the "deformed", demanding respect for them. Velazquez also honored the dwarfs by painting them and including them in his pictures.
Christ Crucified
Enlarged view
Old Woman Poaching Eggs
Enlarged view
Aesop
Enlarged view
In 1660 the king's daughter married King Louis XIV of France. Velazquez made a trip to northern Spain to make preparations for the marriage of Maria Teresa and the king of France. The artist became ill and died a few days after returning to the royal palace. He was 61 years old.
References:
Kostner, Thomas, and Lars Roper.50 Artists You Should Know. New York: Prestel, 2006.
Order
Wilder, Jesse Bryant. Art History for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing Inc, 2007.
Order
Diego Valezquez self-portrait 1643
RESEARCH LINKS
Diego Velazquez
from the Art chive
Pictures and Biography
from the Addio Gallery
Las Meninas
information at Wikipedia
Information about Velazquez
at Humanities Web
Velazquez Paintings
from Olga's Gallery
Velazquez, biography and paintings
from Cyber Spain
Diego Velazquez
from Art Cyclopedia
Velazquez
extensive list of paintings from Web Gallery
Velazquez, biography
Short Lessons in Art History: Artists and Their Work
By Phyllis Clausen Barker / Walch Education
Short Lessons in Art History is a fantastic introduction to the artists who have shaped the artistic world from Giotto in 1266 to Alexander Calder in 1976. Each artist's life is explored, along with their major works, public reaction, and impact upon the world and art after their deaths. Approximately 3-4 pages are given to each of the 38 artists featured, with black and white images of one of their most famous works. A center section contains full color plates. Glossary words are included at the end of each chapter. 217 pages, softcover. Grades 6-12.A LIBRARY OF
ONLINE BOOKS and BOOK PREVIEWS
The Art-literature readers, Book 4, Diego Velazques
by Eulalie Osgood Grover, Frances Elizabeth Chutter 1909 (full view)
Velazquez
by Edwin Stowe 1881 (full view)
Diego Velazquez and His Times
by Carl Justi 1889 (full view)
Velazquez and His Works
by Sir William Stirling-Maxwell 1855 (full view)
Annals of the artists of Spain, Volume 2
by Sir William Stirling Maxwell 1891 (full view)
Velazquez
by Aureliano de Beruete 1906 (full view)
Handbook of painting
by Franz Kugler, Sir Edmund Head 1854 (full view)
Review or Preview these Amazon books using the links below.
Diego Velazquez
by Mike Venezia (Review no preview)
Velazquez: Painter of Painters, the Complete Works
by Jose Lopez-Rey, Diego Velazquez (Review no preview)
Gardner's art through the ages: the Western perspective
by Fred S. Kleiner, Christin J. Mamiya (selected pages)
Velazquez
by Dawson W. Carr, Dawson William Carr, Xavier Bray, Diego Velazquez (Preview no review)
The Vexations of Art: Velazquez and Others
by Svetlana Alpers (selected pages)
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