Diego Velázquez was a Spanish Baroque painter who was one of the most important portrait painters of his time.
He was born in Seville, Spain, in 1599. Because of his talent, he began an apprenticeship as a painter when he was barely ten years old. He married the daughter of the painter Francisco Pacheco, in whose workshop he was also trained. With her he had two daughters, only one of whom lived to adulthood. Later he also lived in Madrid, where he worked as court painter for King Philip IV and created many famous portraits of him and his family. He also accompanied the king on trips through Italy to acquire paintings for the royal collection.
In 1660 he contracted a hot fever, from which he then died in Madrid at the age of sixty-one.
His painting style was revolutionary. He was a master of realism, of light and shadow, and his special talent lay in the depiction of texture, whether in fabrics, human skin, or metallic surfaces. His works are known for their subtle color palette and precision in rendering details.
In his paintings, he devoted himself to a variety of subjects, including religious motifs and everyday situations. However, he is best known for his portraits and courtly scenes, which include portraits of court jesters.
Probably his most famous painting is "Las Meninas", which he created along with numerous other paintings of art historical significance. It shows in a complex scene how he himself painted the Spanish royal family, court ladies and maids. The painting is a masterpiece of perspective and reflects his unique skills as a portrait painter.
This famous painting depicts the surrender of the city of Breda in the Netherlands to the Spanish army, and it shows his ability to capture emotion on the faces of the people depicted.
The erotic painting "Venus at her Mirror" is one of the few nude paintings he created. It is characterized by its sensuality and skillful use of light and shadow.
It is believed that he painted more than one hundred forty paintings during his life.
His work was the model for numerous painters, such as de Goya and Manet. Picasso and Dalí also reinterpreted his paintings.
