Diego Vélasquez

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptized in Seville on June 6, 1599 - died in Madrid on August 6, 1660), said Diego Velázquez, is a Baroque painter considered one of the main representatives of Spanish painting And one of the masters of universal painting.

He spent his first years in Seville, where he developed a naturalistic style based on chiaroscuro. At the age of 24, he moved to Madrid, where he was appointed painter to King Philip IV., And four years later became a chamber painter, the most important office among the painters of the court.

As an artist, by virtue of his rank as court painter, he realized mainly portraits of the king, his family and the grandees of Spain as well as canvases designed to decorate the royal apartments. As superintendent of the royal labors, he acquired numerous works for the royal collections, ancient sculptures and paintings by masters, and organized the relocations of the King of Spain.

His presence at the court allowed him to study the collections of royal paintings. The study of these collections, added to the study of Italian painters during his first trip to Italy, had a decisive influence on the evolution of his style, characterized by great luminosity and quick brush strokes. From 1631 he reached his artistic maturity and painted great works like the Surrender of Breda.

Its catalog contains 120 to 125 works painted and drawn. Celebrated well after his death, Vélasquez's reputation reached a peak from 1880 to 1920, a period that coincided with the French Impressionist painters for whom he was a reference. Most of his paintings, which were part of the royal collection, are preserved in the Prado Museum in Madrid.

Some of his paintings

Portrait of Innocent X 1650

The Surrender of Breda 1635

Equestrian Portrait of Prince Balthasar Charles 1635

The Lady with a Fan 1639

Saint Paul 1619