On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P01197
- Author
- Velázquez, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y (Spanish)
- Title
- Juana Pacheco, Wife of the Artist, characterized as a Sibyl
- Chronology
- Ca. 1631
- Technique
- Óleo
- Support
- Lienzo
- Measures
- 62 cm x 50 cm
- School
- Española
- Theme
- Retrato
- On display
- Yes
- Procedence
- Colección Real (colección Isabel Farnesio, Palacio de La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia, 1746, nº 116; La Granja, pieza octava, 1766, nº 116; La Granja, 1794, nº 116; Palacio Real, Madrid, dormitorio de príncipes-pieza octava, 1814-1818, nº 116).
This may be a portrait of Juana Pacheco (1602-1660), who was Velázquez's wife and the daughter of his teacher, Francisco Pacheco (1546-1644).
Which this identity has not been proven, the work already appeared with the title, “Velázquez's Wife” in 1746, and its intimate and everyday character reveal how close the painter was to his model.
Juana is depicted as a biblical character, a sibyl or a prophet, although the object she holds in her hands, a tablet or palette, has also led her to be identified as Clio, the muse of History, or as an allegory of Painting.
This work was acquired by Isabel de Farnesio and is listed in the 1746 inventory of her collection at the Palace of la Granja de San Ildefonso. By 1814 it was at Madrid's Royal Palace.
