Sunday 29 June 2014

Paintings By Velazquez

By Darren Hartley


Velazquez paintings are famous for their portraits, which rank among the finest in world art. Diego Velazquez was the greatest among all Spanish painters. Diego spent most of his life in Madrid where he was the favourite artist of King Philip IV, who let no other artist paint him.

Most of the Velazquez paintings were unavailable to the public until the opening of the opening of Spain's national museum, the Prado, in 1819. From then on, his influence can be gleamed from the works of Manet, Picasso and Francis Bacon.

In 1618, Diego married Juana, the daughter of Francisco Pacheco, a local painter, with whom he spent a 6 year apprenticeship with. By 1621, the couple had two daughters. Through the connections his father in law had, Diego was able to move to Madrid in 1622. The Court-Duke of Olivares was one of the earliest sitters for the portraits that comprised the Velazquez paintings.

From June 1629 to January 1631, Diego travelled to Italy. It was there that he was influenced by the great artists of the region. Upon his return to Madrid, he began a series of Velazquez paintings consisting of portraits featuring the members of the royal family on horseback.

Upon rejoining the Madrid court after a second trip to Italy from 1649 to 1651, Velazquez paintings comprised of portraitures with a technique that was more assured than ever. It was in 1656 that Diego produced his most acclaimed work, Las Meninas.

Velazquez paintings are considered to be works of one of the great masters of Western art. He is considered as a strong influence by artists of the likes of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. French impressionist, Edouard Manet described Diego as the painter of painters.




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