Velazquez artist biography. School encyclopedia

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (Spanish: Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez; June 6, 1599, Seville - August 6, 1660, Madrid) - Spanish artist, the largest representative of the Madrid school of the Golden Age of Spanish painting, court painter of King Philip IV. Among his students are Esteban Murillo and Juan de Pareja. The only statement of the artist that has survived is “I prefer to be the best in depicting ugliness, rather than second in depicting beauty.”

Diego Velazquez was born on June 6, 1599 (some sources indicate this date as the date of baptism) in Seville (Spain) in the family of local natives Juan Rodriguez de Silva and Hieronyma Velazquez, whose ancestors moved to Spain from Portugal. The parents of the future artist got married in the Seville Church of St. Peter (Spanish)Russian. December 28, 1597, in the same place where the newborn Diego, the eldest of eight children in the family, was later baptized. According to a custom widespread in Andalusia, Diego and his brother Juan, who also became an artist, took their mother’s surname, but samples of the artist’s signatures have been preserved, where he also used the second surname “Silva Velazquez”.

Velazquez's artistic talent was discovered at an early age. According to biographer Antonio Palomino, at the age of 10, in 1610, Diego was sent to study in the workshop of the famous Seville artist Francisco Herrera the Elder. Herrera's stay in the workshop was very short, since he had a very bad character, which the young student could not withstand. The circumstances of the training were not documented, but it is known that in October 1611 Juan Rodríguez signed a "contract for the training" of his son Diego with the artist Francisco Pacheco, for six years, starting in December 1611. Pacheco, a man of wide culture and many-sided education, author of the unpublished during the lifetime of the treatise on the art of painting, a faithful follower of Raphael and Michelangelo and himself making excellent pencil portraits, despite the lack of great talent, was his own man in the intellectual environment of Seville and among the clergy, since he held the position of censor and expert on church painting at the Holy Inquisition in Seville . Pacheco's school of painting, called the Academia Sevillana, reflected an academic, official view of the presentation of religious subjects and images. It was at this school that young Velázquez received his first technical training and aesthetic skills, and it was there that he became friends with the future sculptor and painter Alonso Cano and the famous Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbaran.

On April 23, 1618, the nineteen-year-old young man married Pacheco's 15-year-old daughter, Juana Miranda. Soon they had two daughters: Francisca in 1619 and Ignacia, who died in infancy, in 1621. Marriage between members of different families of Spanish artists was widespread at that time, as it made it easier to find work and commissions.

Velazquez passed the exam for the title of master on March 14, 1617 and, on the guarantee of Pacheco, was accepted into the guild of painters of Seville, where he received a license to work as an artist and painter and the right to “practice his art in the kingdom, have a workshop and hire apprentices.” The young man's first works were made in the genre of bodegones (bodegón - tavern (Spanish)) and represented everyday scenes from folk life, in the depiction of which Diego showed himself to be an excellent observer. About twenty works from that period are known, of which only nine have survived to this day. Some of the most famous paintings by early Velázquez include “Two Youths at a Table” (c. 1618, Wellington Museum, London), “The Old Cook” (c. 1618, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh), “Breakfast” (c. 1618, State Hermitage, St. Petersburg), in which the artist demonstrates his skill through the play of light on foreground figures, emphasizing surfaces and textures, The Water Carrier (Water Seller of Seville) (c. 1622, Wellington Museum, London), famous for his visual effects: a large clay jug reflects light with horizontal grooves on the outer walls, while transparent drops of water roll down its surface. Velázquez's works of this period, especially his still lifes, had a great influence on contemporary Seville artists. There are a large number of copies and imitations of the master’s original paintings. This stage of the artist’s work is characterized by the influence of Caravaggism - emphasized realism in the depiction of objects and an accurate rendering of natural features, enhanced by the contrasting lighting of foreground figures, as well as the density of writing. All works are made using a dark, often conventional background, devoid of depth, which leaves a feeling of airlessness, in a laconic and expressive manner. With all this, it should be noted that there is no doubt about the vitality and authenticity of the images and scenes depicted.

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Diego Velazquez 1599-1660

Born in Seville in 1599, into a poor noble family whose ancestors were Portuguese Jews. He studied painting in his hometown, first with Francisco Herrera the Elder, and from 1611 with Francisco Pacheco, a humanist, poet, and author of a treatise on painting. Velazquez mastered drawing, painting techniques, and working from life. In 1617, Diego received the title of master and soon opened his own workshop. In 1618, the young artist married the daughter of his teacher, Juana Miranda Pacheco. Over the next few years, they had two daughters, one of whom died in infancy.
Most of Velázquez’s works, created during the period of study and immediately after it, are devoted to the depiction of everyday scenes (in the “bodegones” genre, when the scene of action is an inn or tavern), the main characters of which are ordinary people of Seville (“Breakfast”, “The Old Cook”, "Water-carrier"). In paintings on religious themes, the Bodegones traditions can also be traced: “The Adoration of the Magi”, “Christ with Martha and Mary”. During these years, the artist painted the first portraits, in which the characteristics of Velazquez as a portrait painter were determined - a sharply captured similarity, the brightness of individuality: “Portrait of the Nun Jerónima de la Fuente.”

"Breakfast" 1617

"Christ in the House of Martha and Mary" 1618

"Immaculate Conception" 1618

"Old Woman Frying Eggs (Cook)" 1618

"Adoration of the Magi" 1619

"Portrait of the Nun Jerónima de la Fuente" 1620

"Mother Jeronima de la Fuente" fragment

"Miracle at Emmaus" 1620

In 1622, he went to Madrid for the first time, and the next year, with the assistance of the first minister, Duke de Olivares, he managed to receive an order for a portrait of the king.

"First Minister Duke de Olivares"

"Philip IV" 1624-26

“Portrait of Philip IV with a Petition” created a sensation, and the author became a court artist, and soon a chamberlain, received a studio in the palace, and was appointed custodian of the royal collections. Velazquez completed a number of official orders: ceremonial portraits of the king, members of his family, and representatives of the nobility. In addition, he created a gallery of images of figures of Spanish culture: Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Calderon, Quevedo.

"Water Seller in Seville" 1623

"Philip IV on the hunt" 1632-1633

In 1627, in competition with other artists, he painted the painting “The Expulsion of the Moors” and received the title of chamberlain. In 1629, the artist completed a painting, unusual for the Spanish tradition, on an ancient subject - “Bacchus”, or “Drunkards”, which is interpreted as a scene from folk life, a feast of cheerful peasants. Meeting and communicating with Rubens, who visited the Spanish court in 1628–1629. on a diplomatic mission, inspired him to travel to Italy, where in 1629–1631. Velazquez studied and copied the works of Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, Raphael, Michelangelo, and monuments of antiquity. At the same time, his style changed - it became more free and brilliant, the coloring was less dark in the shadows and conveyed nature in bright lighting. Returning to the mythological theme in “The Forge of Vulcan,” Velazquez gives the image a genre character.
The portraits created by Velazquez upon his return, in the years 1630-1640, brought him fame as a master of this genre. The dispassionately cold ceremonial equestrian portraits of royalty are distinguished by the restrained splendor of poses, clothes, horses, and the grandeur of landscape backgrounds. In portraits of courtiers, friends, and students, Velazquez accumulated and synthesized his observations and selected the necessary visual means. These paintings usually lack accessories, gestures, and movement. A neutral background has depth and airiness; The dark tones of the clothes direct the viewer’s attention to the evenly lit faces. The unique combinations of shades of silver-gray, olive, gray-brown found for each portrait with an overall restraint of the gamut create an individual structure of images (portraits of Juan Mateos, Duke of Olivares, “Lady with a Fan”, a series of portraits of the Infantes). A special place is occupied by portraits of royal jesters, the mentally ill and dwarfs. The images of dwarfs amaze with their energy, intelligence, and looks full of inner strength and sorrow, which contrasts with their physical weakness (“El Bobo del Coria”, “El Primo”, “Sebastiano del Morra”). The paired paintings “Menippus” and “Aesop” present images of people who have fallen and been rejected by society, but who have gained inner freedom from the conventions that constrain the individual.
One of the most significant paintings of this period was The Surrender of Breda (1634–1635), in which Velázquez abandoned the traditional conventions of historical paintings of the era. Each of the warring parties is characterized with deep humanity. Drama is revealed through the psychological characteristics of the characters, shown with portrait authenticity.

"Surrender of Breda" 1635

In 1642–1644 Velazquez accompanied the king on his campaign against Aragon, and in the late 1640s. visited Italy again to acquire works of art for the king. The artist was greeted with honor, the portrait of his servant and student, the mulatto Juan Pareja, was enthusiastically received in Roman artistic circles. In 1650, Velazquez was elected a member of the Roman Academy of St. Luke and the Society of Virtuosi of the Pantheon. The portrait of Pope Innocent X, an unusually bold image in its frankness, became Velazquez's most famous creation outside of Spain. The Pope, in ceremonial attire, appears before the audience as a man of bright temperament, intelligent, powerful, energetic, but also cunning and cruel. Velazquez also turns to the landscape and creates two small views that depict corners of the park of the Villa Medici. Probably, upon his return, the masterpiece “Venus with a Mirror” (1657) was created. The theme is inspired by Italian impressions; in Spain, the image of a naked female body was prohibited by the Inquisition. Velazquez shows the beauty of a living woman, flexible, full of grace, bringing the divine image closer to the earthly.
In 1651 Velazquez returned to Madrid, and in 1652 he was appointed royal chief marshal. The new position took a lot of effort and time (the duties included preparing and organizing festivities at the court). Portraits of the late period of Velázquez’s work are largely characterized by artistry and psychological completeness (Infanta Maria Teresa, 1651; Philip IV, 1655–1656; Infanta Margaret of Austria, circa 1660).
In the second half of the 1650s. Velazquez painted two of his most famous paintings. In "Las Meninas" the main character is the five-year-old Infanta Margarita, frozen in the prim pose of a noble lady. The artist conveys her soft, childish facial features. The royal couple is looking at her, posing for the artist (in which Velazquez depicted himself, and left the monarchs outside the canvas - only in the form of a reflection in the mirror). Next to the infanta are numerous ladies-in-waiting. Velazquez shows courtiers in everyday settings, exalting everyday life, presenting it in an elevated, monumental way. The picture is built on the interweaving of the official and everyday, on a multifaceted play of semantic shades and figurative comparisons. “Spinners” is an image of a workshop where carpets were restored and woven to decorate the palace halls. In the background, three ladies are looking at the tapestries, one of which depicts the myth of Arachne. In the foreground are several female workers. This is the first work in the history of European art that glorifies the activities of the common man.
In 1660, Velázquez accompanied Philip IV on his trip to the French border to meet with Louis XIV on the occasion of the latter’s marriage to Infanta Maria Theresa. The organization of the festivities that accompanied this meeting tired the artist so much that he fell ill and died shortly after his return to Madrid. The immediate heir to his position at court was his student and the husband of his daughter Francisca, Juan Batista del Maso.
Velazquez had a great influence on the painting of his homeland, among his students were such masters as Murillo and Kappeño de Miranda. Goya called Velazquez one of his teachers. In the 19th century the master's fame went beyond the borders of Spain. Velázquez is one of the key figures in the development of the art of Manet, who admired the brushwork of the great Spaniard. The themes of Velazquez's paintings were developed in their work by Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali.

"Equestrian portrait of Prince Balthazar"

"Bacchus" 1629

"Count Olvares on horseback" 1634

"Portrait of the Infanta Margherita" 1660

"Equestrian portrait of Philip IV"

"Don Balthasar Carlos"

"White horse"

"Infanta Marguarite Therese" 1654

"Allegorical portrait of Philip IV"

Favorite paintings by Velazquez

"Lady with a Fan" 1640

"The Myth of Arachne (Spinners)" 1657

"Venus before the Mirror" 1644-48

"Philip IV of Spain" 1652-53

"Margaretha as a child Sun"

"Young Lady"

"Francisco Bandres De Abarca"

"Prince Baltasar Carlos as a Hunter" 1635-36

"Self-Portrait" 1643

"St. Anthony"

"Infanta Maria of Austria"

"El Primo. Dwarf with a book on his lap. (Don Diego de Acedo)"

"Saints Anthony and Paul"

"Coronation of the Virgin Mary" 1645

"Coronation of the Virgin Mary" (Fragment) 1645

"Cardinal Camillo Astalli"

"The Family of Philip IV (Las Meninas)"

"The Temptation of Saint Thomas Aquinas"

"Dwarf with a Dog" 1650

"Democritus" 1628-29

"Sketch of the head of Apollo" 1630

"Villa Medici, Pavilion of Ariadne" 1630

"Infanta Margherita Maria"

"Portrait of an elderly nobleman with a gold chain and an order cross" 1645

"Portrait of Marie Louise"

"Portrait of the court dwarf Don Sebastian del Morra"

"Portrait of the court dwarf Francisco Lezcano, nicknamed the Child of Vallescas

"Christ on the Cross" 1632

"Crucifixion"

"Portrait of the poet Luis de Gongora"

"Queen Isabella de Bourbon, first wife of Philip IV" 1631-32

"Juan de Pareya" 1650

"Queen Isabella of Bourbon on horseback" 1634

"Pope Innocent X" 1650

"Portrait of King Philip IV"

Velazquez, one of the greatest masters of world painting, went far beyond the boundaries of the national school. Already his Spanish contemporaries called him “the artist of Truth.” Whatever field of painting he touched, everywhere he said a new word.

Diego Rodriguez de Silva Velazquez - this is his full name - was born into a poor noble family in Seville. It is known that little Diego was brought up in the spirit of Christian piety, attended a Latin school and, having early discovered an inclination towards art, was sent by his father to study with the famous painter Francisco Herrera the Elder, whom he soon left for the workshop of Francisco Pacheco, an art theorist, an ordinary artist, but an experienced one. teacher At the age of seventeen, Velazquez received the title of master. In 1618 he married Pacheco's daughter Juana Miranda. “After five years of study and education,” wrote Pacheco, “I gave my daughter in marriage to him, prompted by his virtue, purity and other qualities, and also in the hope of his natural and high genius.” Contemporaries called Pacheco’s hospitable house “an academy of educated people not only of Seville, but of all of Spain.”

The young artist’s first acquaintance with real life was paintings in the bodegon genre (from the word tavern, tavern) - images of meager breakfasts and kitchen scenes with a few half-figures and a still life in the foreground. The paintings are populated by smart boys seen by the artist on the noisy streets of his hometown, elderly proud Andalusians, a stately water-carrier, a welcome guest in the hours of the southern heat.

However, the happy years of Seville were left behind. Thanks to Pacheco's connections, Velazquez was appointed court painter in October 1623 with the exclusive right to paint portraits of the king. From now on, Velazquez's almost forty-year life took place in Madrid.

Everything seemed alien to him in the new, inhospitable capital of Spain. Madrid became the center of a magnificent royal court and a huge bureaucratic apparatus; the rules of court etiquette operated here with the dull rigor of a mechanism.

Velazquez's workshop was located in one of the wings of the royal palace - the Alcazar. Unlike his great contemporaries Rubens and Rembrandt, Van Dyck and Poussin, he could not devote himself entirely to art. His career at court was that of a courtier, slowly ascending the hierarchical ladder of official positions, right up to the position of court marshal in 1656.

The master gained greater freedom than his compatriots in creating works of secular content, but remained limited by the orders of his master Philip IV. At the same time, life in Madrid opened up the opportunity for Velazquez to study the most valuable collections of paintings and brought him closer to the Spanish cultural elite. With his characteristic impeccable taste, he himself replenished the art collections of the Alcazar. Prior Francisco de los Santos wrote in 1681 that the Spanish royal palace, which for its collection of paintings is “outstanding among other palaces of the monarchs of the world,” owes these “to the cares of Velázquez.”

Scarce information has been received about Velázquez's life in Madrid. His letters have not survived, there are almost no statements, but even the little that is known about him creates an extremely attractive image of a man of high moral nobility.

A joyful event in the life of Velazquez was the arrival of Rubens in 1628 and communication with him. Perhaps the great Fleming was in one way or another associated with the creation of Velazquez’s painting “The Triumph of Bacchus” (1628-1629, Madrid, Prado; the popular name of the Drunkard belongs to the beginning of the 19th century).

For Velazquez, a portrait painter by vocation, this was the first large subject painting, where he turned to a mythological genre that was new to himself and rare for Spanish painting. Like all his subject paintings, the canvas is unusual in design. Depicted against the backdrop of a mountainous landscape, a company of Spanish tramps feasts with the ancient god Bacchus and the faun accompanying him. Avoiding the artificiality of such a comparison, the artist found forms of characterization that do not sharply separate the sublime from the life-like. His Bacchus is a simple-minded, slightly plump young man, and in his companions, rude, full of life, daring, and spiritual scope, one can discern something large and significant.

Perhaps on the advice of Rubens, Philip IV sent Velazquez to Italy in 1629. He visited many famous cities; in Venice, fascinated by Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese, he studied and copied their works. Then he lived in Rome, where in 1630 he created “The Forge of Vulcan” (Madrid, Prado), in which, like in Bacchus, but only more complexly and with a greater degree of irony, he combined a mythological plot with a scene close to reality.

After Velazquez returned from Italy in 1631, his art gained new strength and became immeasurably more confident and mature. The master strives to fill it with life and change traditional ceremonial schemes. The equestrian portrait of the little heir to the throne of Infanta Don Baltasar Carlos (1635, Madrid, Prado), exquisite and full of joyful colorfulness, is permeated with bright morning light.

Velazquez’s high creative rise is evidenced by his painting “The Surrender of Breda” (Spears; 1634-1635, Madrid, Prado), which depicts the fall of the Dutch fortress of Breda in 1625 - one of the few major victories of Spanish weapons in the unsuccessful war with the democratic Netherlands for absolutist Spain. The canvas is one of the most significant works of European historical painting. It characterizes each of the warring parties with a high degree of objectivity and deep humanity. The moment is depicted when the commander of the Dutch garrison hands over the key to the fortress to the Spanish commander, who graciously grants freedom to the vanquished. The characters form a semi-ring around the central figures, involving the viewer, who becomes a participant in the event. A group of proud Spaniards stands under a forest of slender spears. At the same time, the master depicts the defeated Dutch with respect and sympathy. The vast receding expanse of the plain is filled with the silvery fog of an early June morning, with which the smoke of the conflagrations of the villages blazing on the horizon merges.

In the 1630s and 1640s, Velázquez painted portraits of the king, the royal family, dignitaries, friends, students, and royal jesters. His portraits usually lack accessories, gesture, or movement; a strict dark palette predominates, enlivened by a wealth of exquisite shades, especially gray tones. The artist depicts a person in the unity of the most contradictory manifestations of character, sometimes as complex as life itself. At the same time, Velazquez’s portraits are emotionally very restrained. The artist, who did not always find models who inspired him in court circles, was attracted to people of a creative bent and bright temperament.

Velazquez managed to demonstrate true creative freedom in his portraits of jesters. Following tradition, he executed portraits of jesters, dwarfs, and freaks commissioned from him. These works have no equal in world painting. With merciless truthfulness, the artist paints pitiful, helpless figures, sick faces, marked with the mark of degeneration. All the more valuable is his desire to reveal the traits of true humanity in everyone offended by nature, to convey in the jester and freak their mental state, which sometimes rises to mournful tragedy. Velázquez discovers a world of inner experiences in the sedate, lonely sad smart dwarf El Primo, in the confused fool huddled in a corner (El Bobo) from Coria, in the freak Sebastiano Morra, who stares at the viewer with a look full of reproach and gloomy despair (all - Madrid, Prado ).

The theme of the suppressed and rejected human personality by society is associated with images of Menippus and Aesop (both ca. 1640, Madrid, Prado) - majestic figures of street beggars standing tall, bearing the names of the ancient satirist and the ancient fabulist. In the image of Aesop, one of the most profound in Velazquez’s work, there is the sad indifference and wisdom of a man who has known the true value of life.

Velazquez's portrait art was accompanied by triumphant success in Italy, which he visited again in 1649-1651 to acquire works of art.

In the portrait of his student and servant Juan Pareja (1650, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art), the artist, in a Shakespearean way, deeply understood the proud and extraordinary nature of this descendant of the Moors, a people who were persecuted in Catholic Spain. Pareja's portrait, exhibited in the rotunda of the Pantheon, was greeted with enthusiasm by the Roman public; Velazquez was elected a member of the Academy of St. Luke in Rome and the Society of Virtuosi of the Pantheon.

The portrait of Pope Innocent X, painted in 1650 (Rome, Doria Pamphilj gallery), unprecedented in the frankness of the image, literally captivated the Italians. The powerful color sound of the portrait, built on the intense contrast of white and all shades of red, becomes, as it were, an expression of the energy and temperament of the person depicted. The face of Innocent X - rough, purple, with a wary look from deep-set eyes - attracts with its imperious strength. Seeing the portrait, the Pope, as is known, exclaimed: “Too true!” But he accepted it favorably and awarded the artist with a gold chain. The portrait of the head of the Roman church became Velazquez's most famous creation outside Spain. Having visited the Doria-Pamphilj gallery, V.I. Surikov wrote: “For me, all the galleries in Rome are this portrait of Velazquez. It’s impossible to tear yourself away from him, before leaving Rome I said goodbye to him, like a living person, you say goodbye, but you come back again - you think, what if this is the last time I see him.”

The master was in no hurry to return to Spain, which extremely irritated Philip IV. Repeated reminders from the king and a particularly decisive letter from one of his Spanish friends forced him to return to his homeland in June 1651.

The time has come for great creative achievements and at the same time the most intense work at court. Velazquez occupies the position of noble marshal, and his life is entirely confined to the walls of the Alcazar.

In the last decade of his life, Velazquez created his famous paintings “Venus before the Mirror” (c. 1650, London, National Gallery), “Las Meninas” (1656), “The Spinners” (c. 1657, both Madrid, Prado), magnificent court portraits. Women's and children's portraits of members of the royal house captivate with their inspired artistry and boldness of picturesque finds. The latest portrait of the aging Philip IV (1655-1660, Madrid, Prado) is marked by deep psychologism, in which the usual stately equanimity of the Spanish monarch cannot hide the fact that he is not only flabby and tired, but also mentally depressed and lonely; In his usually sluggish and cold gaze, something mournful is discernible.

Velazquez's late paintings are so unusual in concept, in the interconnection of images, and in their multifaceted content, that their interpretation still causes lively debate among researchers.

Venus in front of a mirror held by Cupid is one of his most harmonious paintings, the rarest image of a naked female body for Spanish painting of that time. The angle of view found by the artist here acquires particular freshness and poignancy, emphasizing the melodious rhythm of the lines. The beauty of Velazquez's Venus is the beauty of a real living woman, as in his other works, the beauty of nature itself. At the same time, the image is sublimely beautiful.

Going beyond any genres, Velazquez creates his large-scale late paintings “Las Meninas” and “The Spinners” with inimitable pictorial perfection. The conventional name "Las Meninas" appeared in the 1843 catalog and meant "Maids of Honor" (it came from the Portuguese word "menina", i.e. the young maid of honor of the Spanish infantas). In museum inventories of the 17th-18th centuries, the painting was called the Family or Family of Philip IV.

In the gloomy palace workshop, Velazquez, standing by a canvas stretched on a high stretcher, paints a portrait of the royal couple - the king and queen are, as it were, implied, present in front of the canvas (i.e., among the spectators) and vaguely reflected in the mirror on the opposite side of the hall. Little Infanta Margarita, surrounded by young ladies-in-waiting, a dwarf, a dwarf and a sleeping dog, is called upon to entertain her parents during the languid hours of the session. Behind the foreground group are the figures of a court lady and a gentleman. Behind, the queen's marshal pulls back the curtain from the window, and through the open door sunlight pours into the palace chambers.

Life is captured here in an amazing wealth of semantic shades and comparisons, in a complex dialectic of the reduction of official greatness and the elevation of the real. Each image is extremely eloquent. For example, the figures of a lovely infanta and an ugly dwarf are placed and juxtaposed in such a way that a strange resemblance arises between them, giving their images some unexpected facets; The dwarf Nicolasito, who looks like an elegant boy, surpasses everyone in his liveliness and freedom. Even the dozing large dog is not given a secondary role. His image - the very embodiment of the eternal forces of nature - enhances the impression of prevailing silence, tranquility, and strange fascination. At the same time, the picture is filled with the movement of spatial planes, air, light. The chaos of strokes of pure paint disappears when viewing the picture from a distance - everything merges in pictorial unity into a harmoniously beautiful whole. Velazquez modestly depicted himself in partial shade, immersed in work. But this self-portrait of his is one of the key images of the picture, in which the idea of ​​creative ascent and transformation of life by the creative power of art dominates.

Another famous painting, “The Spinner,” was also painted in “one breath,” equally complex and multifaceted in its design. In the foreground, in the twilight of a carpet workshop, are Spanish spinners absorbed in their work. Their image is consonant with the ancient Greek myth of Arachne, a skilled craftswoman who dared to compete with the goddess Athena herself. The barefoot spinner, full of youthful charm, is like a poetic parallel to the image of the ancient Arachne. In the background, on a platform filled with sun, the ladies of the court admire the carpet, the image of which remains mysterious for the viewer. From the composition woven on the carpet, inspired by Titian's Rape of Europa, the characters of the Greek myth - Athena and Arachne - are brought forward into the unstable space of the interior. They either form part of the trellis stage, or are likened to actors on the stage.

Both planes of the picture merge in a complex interaction of life and myth, dreams and reality, work and creativity. The picture is woven from light and shadow, permeated with air, built on the richest ratio of colorful spots. Everything trembles, everything lives, the spokes of a rapidly rotating spinning wheel merge into a shining circle, as if its light, silvery ringing can be heard.

Less than a year before his death, Velázquez became a Knight of the Order of Sant Iago, one of the most honorable orders of chivalry in Spain. But even this favor, which noted his courtly rather than creative merits, brought him many humiliating experiences. It required proof of his aristocratic origin and numerous evidence that he painted only “for his own pleasure and at the behest of the king,” did not sell his paintings, and received a salary only for his court positions. Velazquez's lifestyle, however, did not change. Signed after a long war between France and Spain, the Treaty of the Pyrenees provided for a marriage between Louis XIV and Philip IV's eldest daughter, Maria Theresa. Their betrothal was to take place on Pheasant Island on the Spanish border. As the court marshal, Velazquez supervised the preparation and decoration of a special room for the royal meeting, the organization of festivities and receptions that accompanied the long advance of the royal cortege. Velazquez received all sorts of praise; he looked unusually elegant at the engagement ceremony. The imagination involuntarily draws the image of this amazing man, who always knew how to hide his fatigue and the bitterness accumulated over the years from backbreaking work, and who had a calm kindness towards people. But Velasquez's health was undermined. Arriving in Madrid, he soon felt an attack of relapsing fever. Velazquez died having reached the pinnacle of his art. He was buried with solemn honors as a knight of the Order of Sant Iago in the main altar of the Madrid church of San Juan Bautista. Seven days later, next to Velazquez, his faithful life partner, Juana Miranda, was buried, stricken with grief.

Tatiana Kaptereva

Diego Velazquez /1599-1660/.Alexander_Sh_Krylov all posts by the author

Born in Seville in 1599, into a poor noble family whose ancestors were Portuguese Jews. He studied painting in his hometown, first with Francisco Herrera the Elder, and from 1611 with Francisco Pacheco, a humanist, poet, and author of a treatise on painting. Velazquez mastered drawing, painting techniques, and working from life. In 1617, Diego received the title of master and soon opened his own workshop. In 1618, the young artist married the daughter of his teacher, Juana Miranda Pacheco.

Over the next few years, they had two daughters, one of whom died in infancy.
Most of Velázquez’s works, created during the period of study and immediately after it, are devoted to the depiction of everyday scenes (in the “bodegones” genre, when the scene of action is an inn or tavern), the main characters of which are ordinary people of Seville (“Breakfast”, “The Old Cook”, "Water-carrier"). In paintings on religious themes, the Bodegones traditions can also be traced: “The Adoration of the Magi”, “Christ with Martha and Mary”. During these years, the artist painted the first portraits, in which the characteristics of Velazquez as a portrait painter were determined - a sharply captured similarity, the brightness of individuality: “Portrait of the Nun Jerónima de la Fuente.”

"Breakfast" 1617

"Christ in the House of Martha and Mary" 1618

"Immaculate Conception" 1618

"Old Woman Frying Eggs (Cook)" 1618

"Adoration of the Magi" 1619

"Portrait of the Nun Jerónima de la Fuente" 1620

"Mother Jeronima de la Fuente" fragment

"Miracle at Emmaus" 1620

In 1622, he went to Madrid for the first time, and the next year, with the assistance of the first minister, Duke de Olivares, he managed to receive an order for a portrait of the king.

"First Minister Duke de Olivares"

"Philip IV" 1624-26

“Portrait of Philip IV with a Petition” created a sensation, and the author became a court artist, and soon a chamberlain, received a studio in the palace, and was appointed custodian of the royal collections. Velazquez completed a number of official orders: ceremonial portraits of the king, members of his family, and representatives of the nobility. In addition, he created a gallery of images of figures of Spanish culture: Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Calderon, Quevedo.

"Water Seller in Seville" 1623

"Philip IV on the hunt" 1632-1633

In 1627, in competition with other artists, he painted the painting “The Expulsion of the Moors” and received the title of chamberlain. In 1629, the artist completed a painting, unusual for the Spanish tradition, on an ancient subject - “Bacchus”, or “Drunkards”, which is interpreted as a scene from folk life, a feast of cheerful peasants. Meeting and communicating with Rubens, who visited the Spanish court in 1628–1629. on a diplomatic mission, inspired him to travel to Italy, where in 1629–1631. Velazquez studied and copied the works of Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, Raphael, Michelangelo, and monuments of antiquity. At the same time, his style changed - it became more free and brilliant, the coloring was less dark in the shadows and conveyed nature in bright lighting. Returning to the mythological theme in “The Forge of Vulcan,” Velazquez gives the image a genre character.
The portraits created by Velazquez upon his return, in the years 1630-1640, brought him fame as a master of this genre. The dispassionately cold ceremonial equestrian portraits of royalty are distinguished by the restrained splendor of poses, clothes, horses, and the grandeur of landscape backgrounds. In portraits of courtiers, friends, and students, Velazquez accumulated and synthesized his observations and selected the necessary visual means. These paintings usually lack accessories, gestures, and movement. A neutral background has depth and airiness; The dark tones of the clothes direct the viewer’s attention to the evenly lit faces. The unique combinations of shades of silver-gray, olive, gray-brown found for each portrait with an overall restraint of the gamut create an individual structure of images (portraits of Juan Mateos, Duke of Olivares, “Lady with a Fan”, a series of portraits of the Infantes). A special place is occupied by portraits of royal jesters, the mentally ill and dwarfs. The images of dwarfs amaze with their energy, intelligence, and looks full of inner strength and sorrow, which contrasts with their physical weakness (“El Bobo del Coria”, “El Primo”, “Sebastiano del Morra”). The paired paintings “Menippus” and “Aesop” present images of people who have fallen and been rejected by society, but who have gained inner freedom from the conventions that constrain the individual.
One of the most significant paintings of this period was The Surrender of Breda (1634–1635), in which Velázquez abandoned the traditional conventions of historical paintings of the era. Each of the warring parties is characterized with deep humanity. Drama is revealed through the psychological characteristics of the characters, shown with portrait authenticity.

"Surrender of Breda" 1635

In 1642–1644 Velazquez accompanied the king on his campaign against Aragon, and in the late 1640s. visited Italy again to acquire works of art for the king. The artist was greeted with honor, the portrait of his servant and student, the mulatto Juan Pareja, was enthusiastically received in Roman artistic circles. In 1650, Velazquez was elected a member of the Roman Academy of St. Luke and the Society of Virtuosi of the Pantheon. The portrait of Pope Innocent X, an unusually bold image in its frankness, became Velazquez's most famous creation outside of Spain. The Pope, in ceremonial attire, appears before the audience as a man of bright temperament, intelligent, powerful, energetic, but also cunning and cruel. Velazquez also turns to the landscape and creates two small views that depict corners of the park of the Villa Medici. Probably, upon his return, the masterpiece “Venus with a Mirror” (1657) was created. The theme is inspired by Italian impressions; in Spain, the image of a naked female body was prohibited by the Inquisition. Velazquez shows the beauty of a living woman, flexible, full of grace, bringing the divine image closer to the earthly.
In 1651 Velazquez returned to Madrid, and in 1652 he was appointed royal chief marshal. The new position took a lot of effort and time (the duties included preparing and organizing festivities at the court). Portraits of the late period of Velázquez’s work are largely characterized by artistry and psychological completeness (Infanta Maria Teresa, 1651; Philip IV, 1655–1656; Infanta Margaret of Austria, circa 1660).
In the second half of the 1650s. Velazquez painted two of his most famous paintings. In "Las Meninas" the main character is the five-year-old Infanta Margarita, frozen in the prim pose of a noble lady. The artist conveys her soft, childish facial features. The royal couple is looking at her, posing for the artist (in which Velazquez depicted himself, and left the monarchs outside the canvas - only in the form of a reflection in the mirror). Next to the infanta are numerous ladies-in-waiting. Velazquez shows courtiers in everyday settings, exalting everyday life, presenting it in an elevated, monumental way. The picture is built on the interweaving of the official and everyday, on a multifaceted play of semantic shades and figurative comparisons. “Spinners” is an image of a workshop where carpets were restored and woven to decorate the palace halls. In the background, three ladies are looking at the tapestries, one of which depicts the myth of Arachne. In the foreground are several female workers. This is the first work in the history of European art that glorifies the activities of the common man.
In 1660, Velázquez accompanied Philip IV on his trip to the French border to meet with Louis XIV on the occasion of the latter’s marriage to Infanta Maria Theresa. The organization of the festivities that accompanied this meeting tired the artist so much that he fell ill and died shortly after his return to Madrid. The immediate heir to his position at court was his student and the husband of his daughter Francisca, Juan Batista del Maso.
Velazquez had a great influence on the painting of his homeland, among his students were such masters as Murillo and Kappeño de Miranda. Goya called Velazquez one of his teachers. In the 19th century the master's fame went beyond the borders of Spain. Velázquez is one of the key figures in the development of the art of Manet, who admired the brushwork of the great Spaniard. The themes of Velazquez's paintings were developed in their work by Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali.

"Equestrian portrait of Prince Balthazar"

"Bacchus" 1629

"Count Olvares on horseback" 1634

"Portrait of the Infanta Margherita" 1660

"Equestrian portrait of Philip IV"

"Don Balthasar Carlos"

"White horse"

"Infanta Marguarite Therese" 1654

"Allegorical portrait of Philip IV"

Favorite paintings by Velazquez

"Lady with a Fan" 1640

"The Myth of Arachne (Spinners)" 1657

"Venus before the Mirror" 1644-48

"Philip IV of Spain" 1652-53

"Margaretha as a child Sun"

"Young Lady"

"Francisco Bandres De Abarca"

"Prince Baltasar Carlos as a Hunter" 1635-36

"Self-Portrait" 1643

"St. Anthony"

"Infanta Maria of Austria"

"El Primo. Dwarf with a book on his lap. (Don Diego de Acedo)"

"Saints Anthony and Paul"

"Coronation of the Virgin Mary" 1645

"Coronation of the Virgin Mary" (Fragment) 1645

"Cardinal Camillo Astalli"

"The Family of Philip IV (Las Meninas)"

"The Temptation of Saint Thomas Aquinas"

"Dwarf with a Dog" 1650

"Democritus" 1628-29

"Sketch of the head of Apollo" 1630

"Villa Medici, Pavilion of Ariadne" 1630

"Infanta Margherita Maria"

"Portrait of an elderly nobleman with a gold chain and an order cross" 1645

"Portrait of Marie Louise"

"Portrait of the court dwarf Don Sebastian del Morra"

"Portrait of the court dwarf Francisco Lezcano, nicknamed the Child of Vallescas

"Christ on the Cross" 1632

"Crucifixion"

"Portrait of the poet Luis de Gongora"

"Queen Isabella de Bourbon, first wife of Philip IV" 1631-32

"Juan de Pareya" 1650

"Queen Isabella of Bourbon on horseback" 1634

"Pope Innocent X" 1650

"Portrait of King Philip IV"

"Jester"

He had six decades in this world, almost two-thirds of which he was the court painter of Philip IV. The position, honorable and desirable, but still destructive for talent due to strict regulations, did not prevent Velazquez from creating paintings in a very special pictorial manner. From the ceremonial portraits of the royal family and courtiers, living people look at the viewer. The painter often reveals secrets that the people he depicts would prefer to hide, involves them in their experiences, shows the versatility of experiences and the complexity of the emotions of the souls of the powerful.

Diego Rodriguez de Silva Velazquez was born on June 6, 1599 in Seville, into a family of Marranos (Jews who converted to Christianity). Deog was the eldest of eight children in the family. The boy discovered his talent for painting in early childhood; at the age of 10 he was sent to study first with the Seville artist Francisco Herrera the Elder, and then with Francisco Pacheco. At the age of 18, Velazquez passed the exam for the title of master and was accepted into the guild of painters of Seville. The main source of inspiration for the early period of Velazquez's work was the life of ordinary people. The artist painted sketches of everyday life in Seville with special realism, drawn from Caravaggio.

The position of court painter to King Philip IV of Spain brought Velázquez a portrait of the famous poet, rival of Lope de Vega, Luis de Góngora y Argote. The monarch liked the work so much that he ordered his portrait from the painter - and again he was so impressed by the resulting picture that he promised that no one except Velazquez would paint it again. Thus, since 1623, the artist received the honorable right to paint the entire royal family and glorify the Habsburg dynasty in his canvases.

Diego Velazquez passed away on August 6, 1660, leaving behind a colossal creative legacy from which many generations of painters, representatives of romanticism and impressionism drew inspiration.

"Evening Moscow" invites you to remember the most famous paintings of Diego Velazquez.

"Las Meninas" (1656)

The painting is kept in the Prado Museum in Madrid. The canvas depicts the artist's studio in the royal palace in Madrid. Nowadays they would call it “backstage” - the painting shows a painter working on a portrait of King Philip IV and Queen Marianne. They are visible in the mirror in the background of the painting, and this is the only painting by Velazquez in which the crowned couple is depicted together. The girl in the center of the picture is the only daughter of Philip and Marianne at that time, five-year-old Margarita. In the appearance of this baby, Velasquez tried to embody all the grace, prosperity, wealth of this family. The infanta behaves with a calmness unusual for her age, without betraying her joy in being near her parents or interest in the unusual environment in the artist’s studio. Obviously, the Crown Princess has already learned that restraint is the main virtue in her family - King Philip IV is known to have laughed in public only twice, and he lived for 60 years.

The canvas is called “Las Meninas” - this is the name given to the ladies-in-waiting who served with the princesses from childhood. The scene depicted by Velazquez involves two ladies-in-waiting - these are also real characters whose names are known. The lady giving the infanta a jug in a deep curtsy is Dona Maria Sarmiento, behind the baby is Dona Iabella de Velasco. There was also a place on the painting for the court dwarfs - Maria Barbola and Nicholas Petrusato. The fact that they are depicted in the same compositional group with a dog recalls the status of these people at court. People with physical deformities were regarded as "utensils" and served to amuse the nobility and help them feel more beautiful and confident. At the same time, it is obvious that Velazquez treated both dwarfs with great respect - it is no coincidence that Maria Barbola and the Infanta find themselves on the same parallel and their images clearly intersect. Yes, one is pretty, and the other is creepy, but both have very smart faces. And this is a special tragedy.

Velazquez’s self-portrait also deserves special attention – the artist depicted himself at work, with brushes and a palette, in a black suit. On his chest is the cross of the Great Military Order of the Sword of St. James of Compostela. “Las Meninas” was written in 1656 – and Velazquez became a member of the order only in 1659. The cross was added later - and, according to legend, it was added by King Philip IV with his own hand.

"Spinners" (1655-1657)

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Photo: Reproduction of a painting by Diego Velazquez

The canvas is kept in the Prado Museum in Madrid. Velazquez very subtly interweaves everyday sketches and mythological plots, and also skillfully plays with the depth and versatility of the composition. The location of the action is the royal carpet workshop. There are clearly three planes in the picture - in the foreground, darker, spinners are working, in the second - in the arch - the ladies of the court are looking at the woven carpet, and the third - in fact, the woven canvas itself, which depicts the myth of the spinner Arachne, who surpassed the goddess herself with her art Athena and severely punished by her. The artist organizes the space of the painting using special work with light. A ray of light illuminates a beautiful spinner sitting half-turned towards the audience - she is focused on her work - her hand is extended towards the finished tapestry and, as it were, sets the vector of movement of her gaze. The maids of honor's outfits blend in color with the space of the carpet, as if becoming part of a mythological plot. “The Spinners” by Velazquez is a hymn to everyday work, poetry that is created by the hands of ordinary people.

Portrait of Pope Innocent X (1650)

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Photo: Reproduction of a painting by Diego Velazquez

The painting is kept in Rome, in the Doria Pamphilj gallery. Art critics call this work by Velazquez one of the best examples of realistic portraiture. Pope Innocent X is depicted in magnificent ceremonial robes, sitting in a richly decorated chair - and at the same time, this is not a classic ceremonial portrait. Velazquez planned to convey the inner world of the pontiff on canvas. The artist met Innocent X live twice during his visit to Rome in 1650 - and managed to embody the impressions of both meetings in a portrait. Innocent X was known for his two-facedness and greed - from the canvas, a clearly insidious and tough man looks unkindly at the audience. However, in his cold, bright eyes one can read depression, it is obvious that he is deeply concerned about something - this is exactly how Velasquez happened to see his dad one day by chance, to witness his personal experiences, hidden from prying eyes. There is no doubt that he is an extremely intelligent person. When Innocent X saw his portrait, he exclaimed “Too true!” For his work, Velazquez received a gold chest chain with a miniature of the pope in a medallion as a gift - and the fame of the talented Spanish painter spread throughout Italy, giving rise to many imitators.

“Venus with a Mirror” (c. 1647-1651)

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Photo: Reproduction of a painting by Diego Velazquez

The painting is housed in the London National Gallery and is the only surviving depiction of the female nude painted by Velázquez. The exact date of creation of this painting is unknown, but it is obvious that the artist worked on it in Italy, because in Spain painting the nude body was prohibited by the Inquisition. The plot was chosen by Velazquez under the influence of the works of the Venetians of the Renaissance - Giorgione and Titian. However, unlike the Italians, the Spaniard’s Venus is chastely depicted from the back. The depth of the image is emphasized by the black frame of the mirror through which Venus admires herself - according to art historians, the “native” frame of the picture was also black, playing on perspective. By the way, there is not much of the Divine in Velasquez’s Venus – it is rather a hymn to human beauty, the sensual side of love.

"Surrender of Breda" (1634)

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Photo: Reproduction of a painting by Diego Velazquez

The canvas is kept in the Prado Museum in Rome. This is one of 12 balat paintings in honor of the military victories of King Philip IV. The cycle was commissioned from Velazquez to decorate the Hall of Kingdoms in the Buen Retiro Palace - the famous Spanish artist was supposed to capture all the power, glory and invincibility of the Habsburg dynasty. "The Surrender of Breda" tells the story of the end of the ten-month Spanish siege of the Dutch city of Breda. From 1568 to 1648, the Spanish Empire fought to maintain Habsburg rule over the Spanish Netherlands (the so-called Eighty Years' War) - the battle of Breda was important from a political point of view, the victory was supposed to raise the spirit of the Spanish soldiers and show the futility of the Dutch resistance. Velazquez depicted on his canvas the scene of the transfer of the keys to the city by Governor Justin of Nassau to the commander-in-chief of the Spanish troops, Ambrosio Spinola, on June 5, 1625. Despite the fact that the painter was faced with the task of glorifying Spanish weapons, he managed to place accents in such a way that the viewer is imbued with equal respect for both the winners and the vanquished. The artist believed that both sides in any war are equally worthy of respect, which is why he did not glorify his compatriots and did not downplay the dignity of the soldiers of the Netherlands. The play of light is again used to place accents - the faces of the men of both armies, painted lighter than the others, are equally noble. Try to mentally swap places of the young man facing the audience on the Dutch side and the lord with a black beard and mustache on the Spanish side - nothing will change in terms of the mood in the picture. The main pathos of the picture is undoubtedly generosity.