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Juan Francisco Alfonso de Pimentel Ponce de León, 10th Count and 7th Duke of Benavente (1584-1652), is portrayed more than half length with a whole host of attributes that confirm is supreme military rank in the Spanish army. In addition to gentleman-in-waiting to Phillip IV, he was appointed captain general in charge of frontier defense during the Portuguese uprising (1641) and participate
Philip IV´s sister, Maria, was born in El Escorial in 1606. As a result of her royal lineage, she was destined to become yet another pawn in the play of matrimonial alliances that the European courts found so useful. As a marriageable infanta, marrying her was first considered a means of improving diplomatic relations with England, but those efforts failed as a result of religious incompatabilites
Of the people with whom Velázquez must have had contact on a daily basis at the palace, many would have been high functionaries or skilled servants of the court. His own social aspirations included becoming a member of that professional group, which he eventually joined, and he made portraits of some of them, including two now at the Museo del Prado: Diego del Corral, shown here, and his wi
In late 1629, the thirty-year-old Velázquez went to Italy for the first time, remaining there for more than a year. During this trip he executed various history paintings, some portraits and at least two views of the gardens of the Villa Medici. While there have been differences of opinion about the dating of these views, the fact that the artist stayed at the Villa Medici for various month
While there is no documentation indicating this work was made for the Torre de la Parada, its subject suggests a relation to paintings intended for that hunting lodge. Unlike other painters, Velázquez’s stylistic evolution cannot be described in linear terms, as many of the characters in his painting appear throughout the greater part of his career. Thus, historians have serious difficulty
A figure suddenly appears on the left in a forge where various blacksmiths are working, dressed in an orange robe and wearing a laurel wreath, with rays of light emerging from his head. This is Apollo, who addresses himself to Vulcan, the blacksmith nearest to him, whose stance reveals his lameness. Everyone has stopped working, astonished by the news Apollo is recounting: the adultery of Vulcan`s
A masterpiece in the history of Western landscape painting, in which Velázquez set out his idea of landscape without any narrative excuse to justify it, this Roman scene and its companion work (P01211) are two of his most singular works. Both combine architecture, plant life and sculpture with living figures and integrate them into a landscaped setting in a very natural way. Critics have re
Of the people with whom Velázquez must have had contact on a daily basis at the palace, many would have been high functionaries or skilled servants of the court. His own social aspirations included becoming a member of that professional group, which he eventually joined, and he made portraits of some of them, including two now at the Museo del Prado: Diego del Corral (P01195) and his wife,
