Tribute to Diego Velázquez - 426 Years Old on June 6

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was born in 1599 in Seville into a minor nobility family. His talent was such that he was quickly entrusted to Francisco Herrera the Elder (1576-1654) before joining the studio of Francisco Pacheco (1564-1644) for six years. His master, a brilliant intellectual, authored the treatise The Art of Painting and introduced his student to the intellectual circles of the city of Seville. The city was very prosperous and benefited from trade with the Americas. 

The Painter's Rise 

From 1617, Diego Velázquez took flight and joined the guild of painters of Seville. He married and started a family with Juana, his master's daughter, before making his first trip to Madrid. There he met the Count-Duke of Olivares, Gaspar de Guzmán (1587-1645), an intermediary who enabled him to become painter to the king in 1623. He had previously painted mainly still lifes and genre paintings. He also received ecclesiastical commissions in his youth and throughout his career.

This work forms a kind of synthesis between religious painting, genre scene, and still life. The title refers to the religious theme from the Gospels of Saint Luke in the New Testament (10:38 to 10:42). This passage recounts the moment when Martha welcomes Jesus into her home. A kind of duality between the earthly and heavenly worlds is created with the painting within the painting, a highly prized setting in Dutch painting. The genre scene and still life also draw from the Protestant Reformation culture in Holland.

The artist quickly found himself propelled into a career on a ladder. He became a chamber painter in 1628, the highest recognition. In 1629, he was offered a two-year trip to Italy by the crown under the influence of Rubens. In 1644, he became superintendent of royal works. This was followed by a second trip to Italy, this time for commercial purposes, from 1649 to 1651. Philip IV then appointed him aposentador de palacio, court marshal. He was granted the title of hidalgo (gentleman) and ennobled by Philip IV a year before dying in 1660 of exhaustion due to the trying preparations for the union between the Infanta Maria Theresa and the King of France, Louis XIV. 

The Artist's Development 

Although André Félibien (1619-1695) did not establish his hierarchy of genres until 1667, this classification was unofficially recognized in Europe.

1-The Grand Genre (history and mythological painting)

2-The Portrait

3-The Genre Scene

4-The Landscape

5-The Still Life

Thus, one of the first things that testifies to the painter's fame is the types of commissions he received. Before 1623, religious iconographies, genre scenes, and still lifes were common. The entry into the court of King Philip IV of Spain focused his production on portraits and official representations.

From the 1630s until his second departure for Italy, Velázquez reached great artistic maturity. He produced mainly portraits and mythological and historical scenes.

During the last ten years of his life, his duties as court marshal were extremely demanding, leaving him little time to paint. He still managed to complete a few works, two of which enjoyed continued success.

Techniques and Styles 

Diego Velázquez learned the art of painting from Francisco Pacheco, a Mannerist painter. This movement was characterized by the abandonment of anatomical rigor in favor of elongated figures, vivid colors, and the use of perspective.

The young painter thus created a kind of synthesis between his teachings and Caravaggio's chiaroscuro.

Furthermore, his first trip to Italy allowed the painter to acquire a broad pictorial culture. The admiration of painters such as Michelangelo, Tintoretto, Raphael, Giorgione, and many others somewhat modified the painter's palette and touch, and he even produced a View of the Garden of the Villa Medici that would inspire the Impressionists. Édouard Manet described him as: "The greatest painter who ever lived." 

Velázquez is a prodigious and internationally renowned painter. He was undoubtedly one of the wealthiest painters of his generation.

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