On June 5, 1625 the Dutch governor of Breda, Justinus van Nassau, surrendered the keys of that city to Ambrosio Spínola, the Genoese general commanding the Spanish tercios (a group of soldiers [+]
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 mi [+]
In its present state the painting reveals two different phases of creation. The apparent age of the sitter and the notable similarities with his appearance in Velázquez`s portrait of the elderl [+]
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 [+]
The custom of placing the principal figure in a portrait alongside another being that was physically or socially inferior was common practice among artists who portrayed figures from the Spanish court [+]
Born to Philip IV and Elizabeth of Bourbon in 1629, Baltasar Carlos was crown prince until his death in 1646. As such, he was the subject of numerous paintings, most of which are related to Velá [+]
The model’s identity is known through the 1701 inventory of the Buen Retiro Palace, which lists a painting two-and-a-third rods high and one-and-a-half rods wide, which is another portrait of a buffoo [+]
We see King Philip IV of Spain (r. 1621-1665) when he was around twenty years old in an austere image filled with references to his status and responsibilities and to the reformist intentions with whi [+]
The first documentation of Diego Velazquez´s Mars is from 1701-03, when it appeared in the inventory of paintings at the Torre de la Parada, the royal hunting pavilion on the outskirts of Madrid. The [+]