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Hannah Shay
Mrs. Fotu
1020 Art
30 May 2014
Diego Velazquez
Spanish painter Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez
(pictured to the left) was born June 6, 1599 in Seville, Spain and died
August 6, 1660 in Madrid, Spain. He is said to be one of the most
influential painters in Spain and of the sixteenth century.
Velazquez started his art career early, when he was around
eleven years old, he took an apprenticeship with Francisco de Herrera
for a year before taking another apprenticeship. According to
Velazquez Biography, Velazquez most likely learned how to use long bristled brushes from
Herrera. After his apprenticeship with Herrera, he began apprenticing with the painter Francisco
Pacheco. This apprenticeship lasted six years. The works that he did under Pacheco were mainly
religious themed, because thats what Pacheco did. Though he was apprenticing Pacheco,
Velazquez had his own style differing from Pachecos style and he chose to paint directly from
life. Bio.com mentions that Velazquez was also influenced by Caravaggio, an Italian painter with
a naturalistic style.
After his apprenticeships, Velazquez married Pachecos daughter and began working as a
painter for the king. Because of this position, many of his works became portraits of members of
the royal family. He often took trips to Italy as well, and was inspired by the artists he saw on his
trips there. He also took a liking to painting dwarves, making them look as complex, intelligent
beings, (Velazquez Biography). It is said that some of his finest paintings are from his second
trip to Italy. The paintings from this trip include a portrait of the Pope, a portrait of his own
servant Juan de Pareja, and Venus Rokeby. The painting of the Pope, called Innocent X, was a
big inspiration to many artists throughout Italy.
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Las Meninas was one of Velazquezs most famous
works. It was also one of his later works, done a few years
before his death. It is a painting depicting the artist himself
painting a portrait of the king and queen, with the princess
in the room watching her parents and the painter. This
painting also features a dwarf, one of his popular subjects.
This painting is a favorite of mine. It is beautiful
and has a lovely composition. There is amazing attention
to detail and the figures of the people seem very realistic.
This is a painting, though it could not be
determined in the sources available if it was an oil or
acrylic painting. It was a culmination of all his works and his developed style. It consists of a
foreground with a dog, two dwarves, the princess, her two ladies-in-waiting, and the artist
himself. The middle area has two people off to the right side of the painting. There are also
paintings along the right wall in the painting. In the background there is a man in an open
doorway. The king and queen are depicted in a mirror to the right of the open door, surrounded
by other paintings. The left side of the painting is taken up by a large canvas.
Velazquez is probably trying to depict what a normal painting process looks like. Beyond
what is depicted, the viewer can assume that Velazquez is painting the king and queen, those
depicted in the mirror in the background, and that their daughter, the little princess, was watching
Velazquez paint.
The background of this piece is all of Velazquezs royal painting works. It led up
to this painting opportunity. This painting was completed in Spain, of possibly a room in the
royal familys palace. As already stated, it was done in the later years of his life, the year 1656.
Why he did this painting was most likely because he was commissioned to, or possibly because
he wanted a self-portrait kind of painting for himself. Both examinations of the painting seem
correct, both the personal and contextual examination.
This works is successful in showing the artist in his environment and capturing
the beauty and slight chaos that surrounds a painting. It is one of the finest paintings for a reason.
It has great detail and fantastic brush strokes that capture the scene. It impacts human beings by
its realistic appearance that appeals the eye of the viewer. After research of this painting, it has
made the painting more interesting, especially knowing the background of the artist himself.
Velazquez did an excellent job, and that is why this painting is one of the best.
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Works Cited
"Diego Rodrguez de Silva y Velzquez." Bio.com A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 30
May 2014.
"Diego Rodriguez De Silva Y Velazquez Biography." Velazquez Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 30
May 2014.
"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Velzquez (15991660). N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2014.
Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.