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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 [+]
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 incl [+]
The sitter`s elaborate dress, the baton of command he holds in his right hand and the sword on which his left hand rest all indicate that he is a military figure. The military context in further sugge [+]
Stylistically, this work appears to have been made in the early 1630s -soon after the artist returned from Italy- and most authors date it from around 1632. The Apollonian perfection of the anatomy an [+]
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 [+]
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 [+]
Between 1635 and 1637, important additions were made to the Torre de la Parada, the king´s hunting pavilion situated in the woodlands surrounding the royal palace of El Pardo, on the outskirts of Madr [+]
One of the most unique and distinctive areas within Velázquez`s oeuvre is that of his portraits of buffoons, dwarves and individuals collectively known as hombres de placer (men of pleasure). T [+]
