Diego Velasquez

Diego Velasquez
Self-portrait 1643 (95 70 cm) Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Birth name	Diego Rodrguez de Silva y Velzquez
Birth	6 June 1599 Seville
Deaths	6 August 1660 Madrid
Nationality	Spanish
Activity (s)	Painter
Master	Francisco de Herrera the Elder , Francisco Pacheco
Artistic movement	Baroque
Works deemed	Las Meninas , Venus at her Mirror , The Spinners ...
Influenced	Edouard Manet , Pablo Picasso
change

Diego Rodrguez de Silva y Velzquez ( Seville , baptized 6 June 1599 - Madrid , died on 6 August 1660 ), Diego Velasquez said in French , is a painter of the Golden Age Spanish. It is famous for his portraits of the court of King Philip IV in the manner outlined in the law almost touches deep and apparent. He was also a courtier , architect , decorator , collector and administrator. It is generally considered, with Francisco Goya and El Greco , as one of the greatest artists of the Spanish history. His style, while remaining very personal, is placed firmly in the current Baroque period. His two trips to Italy as evidenced by the documents of the time, had a decisive effect on the evolution of his work. Diego Velasquez is the author of many portraits representing the Spanish royal family , great characters Europeans and people from the common farmer, weaver, water carrier, dwarf ... but it is also the author of mythological and religious compositions. His art, the general opinion, reached its peak in 1656 with the completion of Las Meninas , his masterpiece universally known.

His artistic influence is considerable, since the seventeenth ^century. From the first quarter of the ^nineteenth century , the style of Velazquez was taken as a model for painters realists and impressionists , in particular douard Manet. In the twentieth ^century,Francis Bacon , Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dal paid tribute to Velzquez by recreating several of his most famous works.

Summary 1 Biography factual 2 The work 3 Children 3.1 The birth of realism in Seville 3.2 Madrid and Philip IV 4 The period of Italian Velasquez 4.1 First trip to Italy 4.2 The return to Madrid (middle period) 4.3 The portraits painted by Velazquez 4.3.1 From the royal family to the "little people" 4.3.2 dwarfs and buffoons 4.3.3 Religious Paintings 4.4 seconds travel in Italy 5 Back in Spain (late period) 5.1 The Maids of Honour 5.2 Venus at her mirror 5.3 The Spinners 5.4 Assign / Unassign 6 Modern Adaptations 6.1 nineteenth century 6.2 twentieth century 7 See also 7.1 Bibliography 7.1.1 Exhibition Catalogues 7.2 Source of Article 7.3 Notes and references 7.4 External Links

/ / Biography factual

- 1599 - Baptism in Seville on June 6

- 1609 - was apprenticed to the painter Francisco de Herrera the Elder in Seville.

- 1610 - was apprenticed to the painter Francisco Pacheco in Seville

- 1611 - Signing of the apprenticeship contract 6 years

- 1617 - March 14, obtained her Bachelor of master painter

- 1618 - April 23 marriage to Juana Velazquez Pacheco, daughter of his master

- 1619 - Birth of daughter Francesca

- 1621 - Birth of his second daughter Ignacia.

- 1622 - April trip to Madrid's royal collections, but fails to paint a portrait of the king.

- 1623 - April trip to Madrid with Pacheco and his slave-assistant Juan de Pareja. Painted the portrait of Luis de Gongora.

- 1623 - October 6, was appointed painter to the king with 20 ducats to pay, his family moved to Madrid.

- 1626 - Velasquez unsuccessfully sought a position as painter to the king for his father-Pacheco.

- 1627 - Velasquez won the contest organized by King Philip IV, but his picture was the expulsion of the Moors lost. Appointed to the Court Bailiff.

- 1628 - Paint the Drinkers (The Triumph of Bacchus). Velasquez accompanies Rubens , Ambassador of the Netherlands, to visit the Escorial for a day.

- 1629 - first trip to Italy, he was in Rome in October after seeing Venice.

- 1630 - stay in Naples and met the painter Jos de Ribera El Espaoleto. Painted the Forge of Vulcan.

- 1631 - back to Madrid. Painted Prince Balthazar and his dwarf.

- 1633 - Francesca married the painter and assistant Velasquez, Juan Bautista Martinez del Mazo. Velasquez was appointed bailiff of the House.

- 1634 - Velasquez was appointed an Officer of the Wardrobe, which provides support conservation works of art and transfers its charge to usher his son.

- 1635 - Paint the Surrender of Breda

- 1639 - Pacheco wrote his will in favor of his daughter Juana.

- 1642 - Velasquez help Murillo to win the right to copy the royal collections.

- 1643 - Velasquez was appointed Superintendent of Works Royals.

- 1646 - Velasquez's responsibilities consist of the royal apartments. Painted Lady and the range

- 1647 - Velasquez was appointed superintendent of the work of the Royal Palace Octagonal

- 1648 - The King of Spain raises its annual salary of 700 ducats.

- 1649 - Second trip to Italy to officially acquire works of art.

- 1650 - He lives in Rome and the Vatican. Painted the portrait of Pope Innocent X. Velazquez was elected to the Academy of St Luke in Rome. Juan de Pareja is freed in Rome.

- 1651 - Returns to Madrid in June. Painted the Venus in the Mirror

- 1652 - The largest collections he bought in Italy arrived in Spain. He was appointed Aposentador Mayor (Lord Chamberlain).

- 1655 - Velasquez ordered to settle in one of the outbuildings of the castle of Alcazar in Madrid.

- 1656 - painted Las Meninas.

- 1657 - painted the spinners

- 1658 -Velasquez was made a Knight of the Order of St. Jacques.

- 1660 - Velzquez organized the decoration of the Spanish flag on the occasion of signing the peace treaty between France and Spain and the marriage of the Infanta Maria Theresa with Louis XIV. Velasquez died Aug. 6, his wife died shortly after.

- 1666 - The debts are cleared Velasquez.

- 1734 - The workshop of Velazquez in the Alcazar of Madrid then occupied by Jean Ranc catches fire, the fire completely destroyed the castle and many works of Velasquez and traces.

The work

Childhood

Diego Velazquez was born in Seville in Spain , in 1599 , and was baptized on June 6 at St. Peter's in Seville. He was the son of Juan Rodrguez de Silva, a lawyer from the aristocracy, Portuguese , and Jernima Velasquez, who belonged to the gentry and noblemen .

It is in this academy that teaches the rudiments of his art, and can observe the literary and artistic developments of the time while forming these languages, philosophy and theology. His workmates were Alonso Cano , Juan Bautista Martinez del Mazo ,

In 1617 , 14 March Velazquez earned his degree of master painter.

The birth of realism in Seville

Velasquez married in 1618 Juana Pacheco's daughter, his master. His wife gave birth to two daughters, Francisca, christened on 18 May 1619 , and Ignacia, who died in infancy. Francisca was later to marry the painter and assistant to his father Bautista del Mazo .

By the early 1620s , the reputation of Velasquez was already firmly established in Seville. He opened his own academy and was a student of Diego Melgar.

The young painter was attached to the depictions of gender issues often religious in accordance with the precepts of his father-censor of the Inquisition. It also portrays the characters of people with very common objects and humble: terracotta jars used in the countryside, birds , fish , fruits and flowers. One can cite the realism paintings careful, though still a little rough painted in a thick paste that is reminiscent Zurbaran , a style that was popular in Seville, with Christ in the House of Martha and Mary in 1618 , The Adoration of the Magi in 1619 (de los Reyes Adoracin) or Christ and the Pilgrims of Emmaus in 1626 (Jess y los peregrinos to Emmaus). A particularly remarkable work of this period is the Old Woman Frying Eggs (huevos friendo Vieja in Spanish ), characterized by strong contrasts of light, a virtuosity in the art of chiaroscuro and his deep and intimate naturalism that evokes the power of Caravaggio.

Madrid and Philip IV

Velasquez went to Madrid in 1622 , with a letter of recommendation to the Count - Duke Juan Fonseca , who enjoyed a good position at court. He spent several months with his servant for company. The young painter seems to have made a strong impression in the capital Spanish , since there was recalled the following year by the Count-Duke of Olivares , the all-powerful minister of King Philip IV. They went so far as to offer him fifty ducats , or 175 grams of gold to cover its needs. Velasquez was this time accompanied by his stepfather Francisco Pacheco. The following year, in 1624 , he received the King the sum of 300 ducats to enable him to bring his family in Madrid: Velazquez agreed, and remained the capital when his primary residence until his death.

Although a little willful temperament, King Philip was a true epicurean passion for hunting , women, and was above all a great lover of art , even to take some pride in his own talent poetry or painting. Historians put to his credit that he knew how to remain faithful and devoted friend of Velasquez for thirty-six. The king soon found indeed the gift of the young man, and declared that no other painter than he could now make his portrait.

The realization of a portrait equestrian Philip IV in 1623 , marked the start of the engagement of Velazquez in the royal service, which automatically gave him some privileges: in addition to his monthly salary of twenty ducats, he enjoyed a housing function, medical care and willingness to pay additional for all works that could be painted. The first portrait of the king was exhibited at the entrance of the palace, where he was admired and commented with enthusiasm by poets of the court. The work has unfortunately disappeared, probably during one of the many fires that ravaged the country's royal palaces.

The Prado Museum , however, has two other portraits of Philip IV by Velasquez made and in which the harshness of his period of Seville has receded, giving way to more delicate tones. The course is firm, recalling that the style of Antonio Moro , the portraitist Dutch of Philip II who exerted a great influence on the Spanish school. The same year, the Prince of Wales (later Charles I of England ) visited the Spanish court. Documents of the time he sat for Velzquez show, but the picture has disappeared. In 1628 , it was the turn of Rubens to go to Madrid as part of a diplomatic mission for nine months. Velasquez was appointed by the king to be the guide of Rubens in his discovery of the Spanish artistic heritage. The old painter Flemish , then at the height of his fame, took advantage of his trip to accept an order from the Count-Duke Olivares (large paintings that resulted now adorn the main hall in Grosvenor House, London ). Those months were probably a decisive impact for the man still little known what was Velasquez, as Rubens, a courtier experienced, did not hesitate to admit his admiration for the young Spaniard. It had no visible effect on short-term personal style of Velasquez. The latter was still impressed, and wanted him then took to discover the Italian masters and legends.

In 1627 , King organized a painting competition open to all artists in the country on the topic of expulsion of the Moors. Velasquez won the top prize, but his picture was destroyed by a fire in the palace in 1734. The descriptions of the period indicate that the work represented Philip III of Spain , pointing with his stick a crowd of men and women, escorted by soldiers, while Spain, majestic woman, calmly watched the scene. This triumph earned Velasquez to be appointed bailiff in the court of the king. It also granted him from that moment a daily sum of twelve reals (the same amount as the barbers of the court) and 90 ducats a year for her clothing expenses.

Five years later, Velazquez was rewarded with an additional 100 ducats for his Bacchus, produced in 1629. The spirit and message of this work can be understood more easily from his title in Spanish : Los Borrachos actually means "The Drinkers" and the painting depicts the parodic tribute sent by a group of drunks at a young man half naked, wearing a crown of ivy and seated on a cask of wine. The table, full of humor and joviality, not unlike the atmosphere of the literary works of Cervantes. Bacchus is also exemplary of how Velasquez knew to take advantage of a careful study of peasant life : the Drawing is a great insurance, and the effects of light and shadow are better controlled than in previous works by the artist. This is probably the painting that best characterizes the style of Velazquez in the first part of his life.

The period of Italian Velasquez

It is customary to divide the artistic career of Velzquez in several periods, based particularly on his two trips to Italy : while the works carried out following the first trip to meet his second period, they belong after the second trip at its third and final period of creativity. This classification is somewhat arbitrary, but irrelevant, are nevertheless not always apply. As is the case with many artists , different styles of Velasquez sometimes tend to mingle with some moments of his life.

Velzquez rarely affixed his signature on his portraits, and the royal archives do not provide a date for his most important works.

First trip to Italy

In 1629 , Philip IV finally allowed to go Velasquez stay in Italy , not hold it against him: his salary to the court was indeed maintained, and the king gave him 400 ducats , which the Count-Duke of Olivares added personally 200 ducats. The artist embarked on a ship in the month of August in Barcelona. He continued his journey accompanied by the Marquis de Spinola , the great conqueror of Breda , who was en route to assume command of troops in Spain to Milan. It is probably during this voyage that Velzquez learned the details of the surrender of Breda, and took his desire to make a painting about it. It seems that the painter has also benefited from the trip to sketch a portrait of the great military. The work is now lost, but the features of the Marquis de Spinola we are still known from a painting by Anthony Van Dyck.

Once in Venice , Velasquez was pleased to make copies of some scenes of the New Testament painted by Tintoretto , particularly the Crucifixion and the Last Supper, to be sent to the King of Spain. At Rome , likewise, he endeavored to make drawings from the greatest masterpieces of Michelangelo and Raphael. Housed at the Villa Medici thanks to the efforts of Count of Monterrey , the Spanish Ambassador and brother of Olivares , Velazquez was however constrained by a fever to return to the city to avoid infecting his guests.

That's when he painted The Forge of Vulcan. The work represents Apollo announcing a Vulcan stunned, depicted as a village blacksmith, the news of the infidelity of Venus , while four men were present at the scene curiously. The Greco-Roman mythology is here treated in the same way as Bacchus: the realism of the very intimate scene serves authentic Spanish decor and a forge in Andalucia. Apollo only reflects on the whole, to remind the subject of the painting. Although the design of the assembly is fairly trivial, the personality of the work remains strong thanks to the liveliness of the design and the expressive power of faces. The modeling of naked bodies, in particular, is extremely detailed.

The Forge of Vulcan is in any case superior to the other painting Velazquez realized at the same time, Jacob receives Joseph's coat ^{Return to Madrid (middle period)}

Back in Spain , Velazquez painted a long series of portraits of the young prince a href = "Baltasar_Carlos" alt = "Baltasar Carlos" class = "mw-redirect"> Baltasar Carlos, heir to the Spanish crown. The first of them, Prince Baltasar Carlos with a Dwarf, when the month of March 1631. Yet old barely sixteen months, Baltasar is coated with an elegant dress green and dark embroidered with gold , holding in one hand his baton of command and the other a sword , all contributing to a balanced portrait ensure its symbolic domination. A little girl dwarf is directly on the left. It pays no attention to the rattle of money and seems to look very carefully an element outside of the frame. It was customary among the Spanish painters of this period to include dwarfs or clowns in their portraits, and Velasquez will reconnect regularly with the habit.

In another portrait later, Prince Baltasar Carlos in the Royal Armoury with the Count-Duke of Olivares, the child, in full uniform of Marshal on his horse , this is already in a holding very noble and dignified for her age. The scene takes place at the riding school of the palace: the king and queen attended the scene from a balcony, while the Count-Duke of Olivares on the mount before the prince. Don Baltasar was killed in 1646 at the age of seventeen years, judging by his age on the portrait, it was probably made around 1641.

The powerful minister Olivares was a patron at the outset faithful and effective Velasquez. The dark features of his face impassive and we are well known thanks to the many portraits by the painter. Among them, two are particularly successful: the first, the Count-Duke, represented by foot, raises very formally and wears the green cross of Alcantara. The second ( see above ) is a large equestrian portrait depicting Olivares fairly flattering as a marshal in battle. These two portraits illustrate Velzquez's gratitude towards him who was his first patron, the painter also gave up no Olivares after his disgrace at the risk of incurring the wrath and jealousy of Philip. But the king did not seem to have held against his favorite artist.

As for the famous Surrender of Breda, conducted at the same time, inspiration came to Velasquez following his travel with the Marquis de Spinola , who had submitted this Dutch city some years ago. This masterpiece shows the key exchange between the city soldiers Dutch and Spanish. We perceive the influence of Greco in how to divide the table into two sides virtually autonomous from one another. Surrender of Breda was one of twelve paintings for the decoration of the grand salon of pageantry of the new royal palace in Madrid , the Buen Retiro. Each of the twelve tables, created by Velasquez and other artists, would represent one of the twelve great victories won by the armies of Philip IV from the beginning of his reign in 1621 until 1633. Velasquez's work focuses on the total submission of the representative of the Dutch, as well as the generous and gracious magnanimity of the Marquis de Spinola, the Spanish military superiority is symbolized by the impressive cloud of spears in the background.

Velasquez clung in all circumstances to remain in the immediate vicinity of Philip IV , accompanied by example during his trips to Aragon in 1642 and 1644. His presence, even, no doubt when the king entered as a conqueror in the city of Lleida. It was then that he realized a large equestrian portrait of his sovereign, in which he is depicted as a courageous commander leading his troops in combat - a role which Philip never practiced in reality. All elements of the painting seem full motion, with the exception of severe features of the king himself. The table can be considered as the counterpart of the great equestrian portrait of Olivares , and competes with the portrait of elegance similar to Charles V made by Titian. It is precisely this famous work which prompted Velzquez to excel: a century apart, the two portraits each with its shining silver color and the realism of the scenery outdoors.

Velasquez, as usual, had painted the king wearing a golilla, that is to say a very stiff white collar itself up at right angles from the neck. This outfit was invented by Philip IV in person, so proud of his find that he celebrated by a festival followed by a procession to the church where he addressed his thanks to God for the blessing which he had been favored. The golilla is therefore quickly as a fashion must in the court, and this item of clothing appears in most male portraits of the time.

The portraits painted by Velazquez

From the royal family to the "little people"

Well beyond the forty-odd portraits of Philip IV , Velazquez praised his talents to other members of the royal family. This is particularly the case of Philip's first wife, Elizabeth of France , and her children, especially the eldest Baltasar Carlos (see above ), which is a superb full-length portrait in a private room of the palace Buckingham. Other persons of rank are more common in the past the artist's studio, including horsemen , the soldiers , the clergy or the poets of the court. All, they have been forgotten by history , have nevertheless survived in our memories thanks to the painter's brush. Even the faithful " slave "by Velazquez, Juan de Pareja, who has been entitled to a magnificent portrait (see above), which shows the high esteem in which his master was. It was during his second stay in Rome in 1650 that Velazquez painted the portrait of Juan. The work can be done by way of training before tackling the portrait of Pope Innocent X ( see below ), manages to capture detail in both the capacity and very worthy of his clothes Pareja somewhat patched. It is one of the best portraits ever produced by the painter.

Unlike the traditional Italian , and Spanish at the time showed a reluctance to capture the features of their most beautiful women : the queens and princesses were indeed frequently painted and admired, but such support was much more rarely given to single ladies of high society. One can only speculate on the identity of the seductive Lady with fan, whose portrait is now the pride of the Wallace Collection in London.

Dwarfs and jesters

If relatively few Spaniards gained access to the workshop of Velasquez, it was different for dwarfs and buffoons of the court. These deformed creatures and often suffering from a mental disability are able to generate much sympathy, even some compassion under the brush of the artist, who treats them with gentleness and kindness in showing strikingly deep humanity. This is particularly true of Portrait of a dwarf holding a book on her lap: the intelligence of the character traits, as well as the huge book and bottle of ink to show him how man is grown wiser and most gallant of the court, contrary to appearances would suggest. For a long time, however, commentators have seen in this table that joke of Velasquez. The painter, they thought, would simply amused to represent a dwarf "disguised as a philosopher studying, if not based on actual intelligence model. It was only in 1872 that was speculated that the man could be Don Diego de Acedo, el Primo nicknamed because of his status as favorite to King Philip IV. The refined and cultivated in which bathes the portrait, in these circumstances would turn out perfectly serious and justified.

Other works such as Portrait of the Jester Pablo de Valladolid ( 1637 ), where the subject is portrayed in full declamation, or the Portrait of the Dwarf Francisco Lezcano ( 1645 ) belong to the same vein.

But the representation of dwarf most famous is probably the Velasquez portrait of a dwarf sitting on the ground. The man, known from the royal archives he called Don Sebastin de Morra, is depicted in a posture of a more interesting title. This dwarf bearded, wearing a suit with very bright colors of green and red , offers a striking contrast with a rather dark background, thus enhancing the whimsical character apparently well-known character. The impression of smallness is strongly reinforced by the play of perspective , which gives only an extremely shortened legs, besides the singular aspect of the feet straightened up. Sensuality and masculinity expressed in the facial features, unique to a man of average height, are only further enhanced.

Religious Paintings

The most important paintings religious Velasquez was performed at the same time: The Crucifixion (or Christ crucified), despite its fairly conventional theme, depicts the death of Christ with exceptional originality. Jesus' head, inert, rests on his chest, his hair disheveled and hide a part of his face. The background, a black uniform, leaves out the fact that Christ is absolutely alone. The work had previously been extended to be inserted in the oratory of a chapel. This addition has since been deleted.

Do not overlook the fact that so soon to be attached to the court of the King of Spain is not only a chance for the painter on his tremendous upward mobility (he was knighted at the end of his life), but also for its independence vis--vis the religious orders, who would otherwise flooded with religious orders.

The son-in-Velasquez Bautista del Mazo , succeeded him in his duties as bailiff in 1634 and ascended too quickly the ranks of the royal house. He touched for his paintings, from 1640 , an annual pension of 500 ducats , raised to 700 ducats in 1648. He was also appointed inspector of works of the palace in 1647.

As for Velasquez himself, he was now called by other tasks: the king entrusted him with the project long since matured to form an academy of fine arts in Spain. Already rich in paintings , the country suffered in contrast to a lack of statuary , and Velzquez was sent again to Italy to conduct acquisitions.

Second trip to Italy

Accompanied by his assistant and mulatto slave Juan de Pareja , whom he taught the intricacies of painting , Velzquez sailed on a ship in Malaga in 1649. He took off to Genoa , before continuing his journey to Milan and Venice , buying paintings of the passage of Titian , of Tintoretto or Veronese. In Modena , the painter was received with great warmth by the Duke : he lingered a bit to make the portrait of his host and two other tables, stored since 1746 in Dresden , in Germany.

These works, by their bill, announced the third and final period style of the painter. This applies even large portrait of Pope Innocent X , presented at the Doria Pamphili Gallery in Rome , a city where Velasquez then went. The spiritual leader of Christendom greeted with a very marked favor by making him such a gift of a medal and a string of gold. Velasquez took care to make a copy of the portrait to be able to bring a copy in Spanish. Currently, there are multiple copies distributed in different museums : some studies derived from the original, while others are replicas made for Philip IV. It is in the Portrait of Innocent X as Velasquez seems to reach for the first time abreviada manera, a term invented by the Spaniards of the time to characterize this bold and decided. The portrait reproduced facial expression of Innocent X with such a truth that some in the Vatican feared that even the pope is still unwell. But the latter, on the contrary, was delighted with the result, and hung the painting in the lobby where visitors had to wait.

Velazquez was elected to the St. Luke Academy in Rome. It frees Juan de Pareja.

Joshua Reynolds , portraitist English of the ^eighteenth century , went so far as to declare that the work was the most beautiful painting that can be found in Rome. In the twentieth ^century, the painter Francis Bacon , by his own admission obsessed by this work, inspire them to imagine a series of paintings that are a variation expressionist where Pope howls of anger and violence. In the painting entitled Figure with Meat ( 1954 ), the pope is represented between two halves of a cow cut in half!

Back in Spain (late period)

The King Philip IV , however, pined for his painter favorite after a short stay at Naples where he could visit his old friend Jos Ribera , Velazquez returned therefore in Spain via Barcelona in 1651. He took with him many paintings and more than three hundred statues , all intended to be arranged at the convenience of the king. The statues of naked , that the Church had in Spanish horror gradually disappeared after the death of Philip. lisabeth of France died in 1644 , and the king had married Marie-Anne of Austria , who in turn was frequently painted by Velasquez. But the painter had given the title alongside of aposentador Major, who entrusted him with responsibility for the good performance of neighborhoods occupied by the court. The heavy load was nothing ceremonial, and would therefore interfere with his artistic activities. Yet, far from declining in quality, the works of this period are the finest examples of his style.

The Spanish were then two main sponsors , namely the Catholic Church and Philip IV himself. Bartolome Esteban Murillo was the artist of choice for church, while Velzquez was supported by the court. The differences between the two men are significant: while Murillo, after a lifetime of toil in the service of a church, however rich and powerful, died with barely enough to finance his funeral, Velasquez lived and died in the annals of courtesan life.

Las Meninas

One of the princesses , Margaret , the eldest daughter of the new queen , is the subject of Las Meninas (Las Meninas in Spanish ). This is probably the masterpiece of Velasquez. Made four years before his death, the painting is done by itself, the ambassador informed Baroque whole. The work has been extolled since its inception: Luca Giordano , a painter Italian at the time, called him a "theology of painting". As for the Englishman Thomas Lawrence , he lives in the ability of painting to produce exactly the desired effect the object of the philosophy of art. "

The message of the work has been interpreted in different ways. Some commentators argue that the rather vague reflection of the king and queen on the mirror of the bottom may symbolize the imminent decline of the Spanish empire , which would occur after the artist's death. . Velasquez was finally accepted in 1659 : Despite its activity, it could actually be considered a merchant, its status as official painter to the king relieved him clearly to sell his paintings.

Venus at her mirror

Without the credit Velasquez won his accession and to see considered in the Order of Santiago , it would probably not have escaped the censure of the Inquisition Spanish about the beautiful Venus at her mirror. It is the only naked women 's painter who managed to survive. Its date of composition, however ready to debate: until recently, experts agreed to locate the table towards the end of the decade in 1650 , that is to say, in the twilight of the career of Velzquez. This hypothesis has been shaken following the discovery of the inventory from a private collection dating back to June ^1, 1651 , namely Venus and citing his mirror. This index unexpected traces the creation of the table, until just before the second trip of the artist in Italy , probably between 1644 and 1648. However, the style reached full of this masterpiece still justifies its ranking among the later works of the painter.

Venus at her mirror, even more than the other paintings by Velazquez, suffered the rigors of time. Beyond the classic tear or friction, for example, the table was vandalized with rifle knife in 1914 by a suffragette activist. Furthermore, a restoration rather brutal work, which occurred in 1965 , has profoundly altered the original design of certain hues, like the gray initial layer on which Venus , now very much blue.

But that does not diminish his interest in painting, where all the elements seem to converge to give the scene a powerful charge erotic : the vivacity of exuberant colors, whether red bright curtains, blue Belt Cupid or tones of pale, milky skin of the goddess, are combined with perfect fluidity and feminine lines of the elongated body in an atmosphere of sensuality rare for the time. The work has often puzzled by the fact that the face reflected in the mirror seems to belong to a woman much older. For some, this is an allusion to the vanity and brevity of beauty. Others see only the effects of a bad restaurant by a painter later.

Commentators have identified several stylistic similarities with other works by Velazquez up at the same time, in particular the representation of Arachne. Without the luxuriance of Venus at her mirror, the young Arachne is portrayed with great sensitivity, both in the contours of her silhouette in the vaporous transparency effects of his coat. In both tables, Velasquez skillfully uses the pretext of the Greco-Roman mythology to express his idea of the beauty of a young woman.

The Spinners

One of the last works of the artist, the legend of Arachne, more commonly known as The Spinners (Las Hilanderas in Spanish ), was completed around the year 1657. The painting depicts the interior of a mill royal tapestries. In the foreground five spinners and spinning wheels rotate and work. One of them opens the red curtain of a theatrical way tucking light on the left. On the wall right balls of wool are hung. In the background in another room with four women converse weapon to a character in a tapestry hung on the wall after "The Rape of Europe" of Titian at the bottom. The painting, full of light, air and movement, boasts bright colors and appears to have been the subject of considerable care on the part of Velasquez. As shown by Raphael Mengs , this work seems not to be the result of a manual, but a purely abstract desire. It concentrates all the know-how artistic accumulated by the painter during his long career of forty years. The plan is relatively simple, and relies on a combination of varied colors red , green blue , gray and black.

In 1660 , the signing of a long-awaited peace treaty between France and Spain was sealed by the marriage of the Infanta Maria Theresa with Louis XIV. The ceremony was to take place on the island of Pheasants, a small marshy island in the Bidasoa. Velasquez was charged with the decoration of the Spanish flag and all the aesthetic arrangements. The painter seems to have hit all invited by the splendor of the costume he hoisted on the day of festivities. He took the road to Madrid on June 26 but was struck by a fever on July 31. Feeling his end approaching, he wrote his last wishes , making his wife and his best friend Fuensalida, keeper of the royal archives, his sole executor. Diego Velasquez died on 6 August 1660 , and was buried in the vault Fuensalida of the church San Juan. In the space of just eight days, his wife joined him in death. The church, unfortunately, was destroyed by Napoleon's army in 1811 , so the precise location of the tomb is now unknown. The debts accumulated by many Velasquez fueled tensions between the painter's family and the Spanish Treasury until 1666 , before the death of Philip IV does finally mention the dispute.

Assign / Unassign

p> Many paintings attributed to Velazquez at a time are now attributed to his studio to his son-Martinez Del Mazo or his slave Juan de Pareja, or even anonymous. Thus, the Dead Soldier (National Gallery, London) which Manet was inspired for his bullfighter death . The portrait of the Infanta Margarita of Austria is currently with del Mazo as the group of men said the 13 men or to Zaragoza Prado. The portrait of Gaspard de Guzmann Mounted Prado, Madrid Velasquez, the version in most of the Alte Pinakothek square of Munich is attributed to del Mazo, while the version of the Met (New York) is attributed to Velasquez that discussed. The portrait of the Infanta Marie-Therese (Met) attributed to Velazquez throughout the nineteenth century, is attributed to del Mazo since 1909.

Other tables are reallocated to Velasquez as the copy of Las Meninas in London, which attributed to copy del Mazo became the first version of Las Meninas by Velasquez, or portrait of a man from the Met reassigned in November 2010

Modern adaptations

XIX ^century

Until the ^nineteenth century , the works of Diego Velazquez remained little known outside of Spain. He had to wait for the initiative and Goya in 1778 for the master's paintings contained in the royal collections are finally burned. Many of his paintings still out of the country during the Napoleonic wars , carried by French officers lovers of art , and then circulated through the Europe. In 1828 , David Wilkie , who is visiting Madrid , wrote that he felt in the presence of a new artistic power when contemplating the paintings of Velazquez, whom he could identify with some affinities portrait UK as Henry Raeburn. The artist was particularly struck by the impression of modernity emerging from the works of Spanish painter, whether portraits or landscapes.

Since the technique and personality of his inimitable style have earned Velzquez a prominent place in the history of art in Europe. It is often considered the father of the Spanish school of painting. Although closely linked with all schools in Italy and the greatest artists of his time, Velasquez was able to withstand external influences and develop its own kind of style.

Velasquez was painting one of the leading models of Edouard Manet , which is not trivial if one knows that it operates the junction between realism and impressionism. Calling often "painter of painters" Manet admired in his illustrious predecessor, the use of very bright colors that distinguish particular Velasquez of his contemporaries, more attached to a Baroque rather academic. The influence of Velasquez is found for example in the fife player , which inspired Manet openly portraits of dwarfs and buffoons made by the Spanish painter .

XX ^century

The essential step is that Velazquez in the history of art is perceptible to the present day, through the way the painters of the ^twentieth century have found his work. This is Pablo Picasso who presented the tribute to his compatriot most visible when completely recomposed Las Meninas in 1957 in style cubist characteristic, while retaining the exact original position of the characters. Although Picasso had feared that such a work is considered only as a copy, this work of considerable magnitude (it was his biggest star since Guernica in 1937 ) was quickly recognized and appreciated by the artistic Spanish.

In 1953, Francis Bacon painted his famous series Study from Portrait of Pope Innocent X by Velazquez.

Salvador Dal , wishing to celebrate the tercentenary of the death of Velazquez, realizes in 1958 a work entitled Velzquez Painting the Infanta Margarita. The use of color clearly refers to the style of the great painter. As this painting than Picasso Bacon had not only led to renewed interest around Velazquez, but also stimulate the emergence of new theories and schools of art, such as the nuclear mysticism in the case of Dal , lack of defined shapes, space, light and color in the final work of Velasquez. Text that explains the birth of Velazquez Abstraction.

See also

Bibliography

• Dictionary Bnzit , critical and documentary dictionary of painters, sculptors, designers and writers of all ages and all countries, Vol. 14 editions Grnd, January 1999, 13 440 p. ( ISBN 2700030249 ), p. 93-95

Exhibition Catalogues

• 1966: In the light of Vermeer, Paris, Muse de l'Orangerie, September 24 to November 28, 1966 (In the park of the Villa Medici, Madrid , Museo del Prado )

Article Sources

• Janine Baticle, Velzquez: Painter hidalgo, Gallimard, coll. "Discovery-Painting", 1989 ( ISBN 2070530930 ).
• Yves Bottineau, Velasquez, Citadel & Mazenot, et al. "The Lights", 1998 ( ISBN 2850881104 ).
• Jonathan Brown, Velzquez, Fayard, 1988 ( ISBN 2213022186 ).
• Jos Lpez-Rey, Velzquez - Catalogue raisonn, Taschen, 2003 ( ISBN 3822808016 ).
• Maurizio Marini, Velzquez, Gallimard, coll. "Masters of Art", 1998 ( ISBN 2070115852 ).
• Norbert Wolf, Diego Velazquez, 1599-1660, Taschen, 2003 ( ISBN 3822869848 )

References

External Links

• (Es) Vida y Obras de Don Diego Velzquez by Jacinto Octavio Picn on Project Gutenberg
• (In) Catalog of the works of Velasquez on artcyclopedia.com

• Portal Painting
• Gateway to the History of Art
• Portal Renaissance
• Spain portal

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