Diego Velázquez (1599—1660) was the greatest painter of the Spanish Golden Age who has exerted a constant influence on painters until the present day.
Diego Velázquez Summary
- In 1623 painted Philip IV, which won him primacy over all other portraitists in Spain
- Visits to Italy, in 1629 and 1649, determine the two main phases of his development
- Aside from those of the Spanish royal family, his most famous portrait is of Pope Innocent X
- Las Meninas (1656) is considered a symbol of the Baroque
- Knighted in 1659 after intense inquires into his lineage, which was not aristocratic and may have been Jewish
- Influential over countless modern artists, his presence in the work of Édouard Manet is often noted
Diego Velázquez’s Famous Paintings
- Portrait of Don Luis de Góngora (1622)
- Francesco I d’Este (1638)
- Portrait of Sebastián de Morra (1645)
- Adoration of the Virgin (1645)
- Female Figure (c. 1648)
- Portrait of Pope Innocent X (1650)
- Portrait of Juan de Pareja (c. 1650)
- Portrait of the Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain (c. 1653)
- Las Meninas (1656)
- Las Hilanderas (c. 1657)