Aesop and Menippus are first listed in the inventory of the Torre de la Parada between 1701 and 1703. Among other works, this hunting lodge had a vast cycle of mythological paintings made by Rubens an [+]
One of the most distinguished components of Velázquez` oeuvre is his gallery of buffoons (or, as we would generally call them in English, jesters), dwarves, and other men of amusement who enter [+]
Born in El Escorial in 1609, don Fernando was the son of Philip III and Margarita de Austria, and thus Philip IV´s brother. As a result, he held very high posts. In 1619, he was appointed cardinal and [+]
Mariana of Austria (1634-1696) was the daughter of the Emperor Ferdinand III and María of Hungary. It was intended that she marry her cousin, Prince Baltasar Carlos, but following his death she [+]
This is an extraordinary example of the eventful life of many royal portraits during the Siglo de Oro, and it shows just how much those paintings, rather than immutable artworks, were objects with a r [+]
Documentation of payment received by Velázquez in July 1629 for an image of Bacchus painted at the king`s behest informs us of the work`s approximate date and identifies its intended recipient. [+]
In the foreground of this canvas, a figure dressed in green holds in his hands what appears to be a pack of cards and looks directly at the viewer, as if to invite us to participate in the game. He is [+]
In 1624, soon after Velázquez`s arrival at court, the political writer Almansa noted that the equestrian order was and is the backbone of republics. This notion was shared by the Spanish monarc [+]
Aesop and Menippus are first listed in the inventory of the Torre de la Parada between 1701 and 1703. Among other works, this hunting lodge had a vast cycle of mythological paintings made by Rubens an [+]
Of the equestrian portraits painted for the Hall of Realms, this is the only one with a declaration of authorship. The lower left corner has been a customary place throughout the history of painting f [+]
There were two categories of royal jesters: those whose attractiveness was based on their physical or mental limitations, and those who, lacking any such handicap, entertained with their personality o [+]
Painted in Seville in 1619, The Adoration of the Magi is the largest of Velázquez`s early works and, together with Saint Ildefonso receiving the Chasuble, the one with the most figures, making [+]
Born to a noble family in Toledo, sister Jerónima de la Fuente Yáñez was a Franciscan nun at the convent of Santa Isabel in her native city. In 1620, at the age of sixty-six, she [+]
Margarita of Austria (1651-1673) was the daughter of Philip IV and Mariana of Austria. When Mazo painted her she was betrothed to the Emperor Leopold of Austria, whom she married in 1666. In this port [+]
The second half of the 16th century and the first decades of the 17th saw the rise in Spain of male bust portraits in which the model normally appears against a neutral background with no elements to [+]
This is one of Velázquez`s largest paintings and among those in which he made most effort to create a complex and credible composition that would convey a sense of life and reality while enclos [+]
This portrait dates from Velázquez`s second trip to Italy (1649-51). For many years the sitter`s identity was unknown but he has recently been identified as the banker Ferdinando Brandini (1603 [+]
Following his appointment as painter to the King in 1623, Velázquez`s principal task was that of portraying the monarch and his circle. In order to do so he primarily made use of two different [+]