Diego Velázquez

Court painter of the Spanish Golden Age and creator of Las Meninas.

Life

Seville

Born in Seville, Velázquez began studying painting at eleven. At twenty-four he was summoned to the court in Madrid as court painter to King Philip IV, and he served the royal family for the rest of his life.

Court painter

He traveled twice to Italy and was deeply influenced by Titian and other Venetian painters, his brushwork growing ever freer. In 1656 he completed Las Meninas: the little Infanta Margaret stands surrounded by her maids of honor, the painter himself stands before a huge canvas, and a mirror on the back wall reflects the king and queen, creating an intriguing play of who is looking at whom.

Maids of honor

Late in life he was made a knight of the Order of Santiago, and he died in 1660.

Legacy

Manet called Velázquez "the painter of painters," and Picasso reinterpreted Las Meninas over and over in 58 paintings.

Major works & achievements

• Las Meninas
• The Spinners
• Portrait of Pope Innocent X

Did you know? The red cross of a knightly order on the painter's chest in Las Meninas is said to have been added only after he was made a knight.

Key dates

• 1623Became court painter
• 1629First travels in Italy
• 1650Painted Portrait of Pope Innocent X
• 1656Completed Las Meninas
• 1660Died