Sabtu, 21 Juni 2014

Velazquez Paintings

By Darren Hartley


One portrait among Velazquez paintings was that of the court fools, people with mental and physical weaknesses kept to amuse the king. In his portrait, Velazquez exemplified great humanity by depicting them with respect instead of mockery. Another famous Velazquez painting was The Rokeby Venus, done in 1648, depicting a beautiful female nude.

Velazquez visited Italy twice. It was during these visits that he was able to include a portrait of Pope Innocent X among the Velazquez paintings. This was in 1650. The pope said the painting was so truthful in the vivid way the picture caught his character. He was truly impressed.

The early Velazquez paintings were made up of traditional religious themes favoured by his master, Francisco Pacheco, a local painter, with whom Diego spent a six year apprenticeship, starting at the age of 11. The naturalism of Italian painter, Caravaggio, also had an influence on him. Diego was born in Seville, Spain, in June 6, 1599.

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.

On Diego's second trip to Italy from 1649 to 1651, he was given the opportunity to include the portrait of Pope Innocent X among the Velazquez paintings. The portrait is considered among the finest portraits ever to be rendered. Other paintings of the period was a portrait of Pope Innocent X's servant, Juan de Pareja, admired for its striking realism and the Venus Rokeby, the only surviving female nude painting by Velazquez.




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