Diego Velazquez example essay topic

Diego Velazquez was born and baptized on June 6, 1599 in Seville, Spain. Seville was the most populous city of Spain, and also a very wealthy part of Spain as well. It was the center of cultural activity and was known as "the New Rome". (Art Book: Velazquez, 1999) His father was Joao Rodriguez Silva from Portuguese origin, and his mother was Jeronimo Velazquez from Spain. (Academic American Encyclopedia, Vol. 19, 1886) Diego took the last name from his mother instead of from his father, which was very common then where they were from. He was the oldest of seven brothers.

His family moved to Seville from the Portuguese town of Oporto about a decade before Diego was born. (Art Book: Velazquez, 1999) During his lifetime, Velazquez had two main mentors. The first was Francisco Herrera the Elder. He was described as "a strict man without character". (Velazquez, 1989) He was Velazquez's apprentice when he was about 10 years old. Although, Herrera's inflexible character drove Velazquez to turn to another mentor, Francisco Pacheco.

They formed an apprenticeship in 1610. Francisco Pacheco was Seville's leading teacher of painting. The contract they had lasted from 4-6 years. (Art Book: Velazquez, 1999) It also provided Velazquez with plenty of food and clothing. During this time with Pacheco, Velazquez developed his own style- He preferred to draw "lively young peasants" instead of just copying from prints, as most apprentices would do. (New Standard Encyclopedia, Vol. 16, 1987) Later on, Velazquez went on and married Pacheco's daughter, Juana.

Together, they had two daughters. After this, Velazquez went on two trips to Italy- One was in 1629 and the other was in 1649. There, he found inspiration for several religious and mythological paintings. (New Standard Encyclopedia, Vol. 16, 1987) While in Rome during his second trip (1649-1650), he painted his famous portrait of the Pope Innocent X. The Pope was so pleased by this that he sent Velazquez a gold chain and portrait medal. (The New Book of Knowledge, Vol. 19, 1986) Diego Velazquez was a 17th century Spanish painter and the first in rank of Western artists. He was an early realist.

He had technical skill in composition and his majesty of light, shading, and coloring caused him to be called "the painter's painter". (Academic American Encyclopedia, Vol. 19, 1986) He used broad, free brush strokes. In his portraits, he eliminated all unnecessary details, showing the figure in bold relief against a fainted background. (The New Book of Knowledge, Vol. 19, 1986) He wanted himself to be known as a genre painter, which means "one who mirrors common life". (New Standard Encyclopedia, Vol. 16, 1987) He wanted to show life as he saw it, and he painted people in settings in which they lived. He captured the noble and special qualities of life in his paintings.

(The New Book of Knowledge, Vol. 19, 1986) Diego Velazquez died on August 6, 1660 from being overworked.