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. [+]
The subject is drawn from the narration in Jacobo de la Voragine`s 13th-century Golden Legend of Saint Anthony the Abbot`s voyage to the Egyptian desert to visit Saint Paul, the first Christian hermit [+]
Wearing his characteristic winged hat, and with a pan flute next to his left hand, Mercury stealthily approaches a shepherd he has lulled to sleep with the unlimited powers of his music. The latter is [+]