Carl Justi
Diego Velázquez
(1599-1660)
“The painters of every school who surround him in the museum of Madrid, and who are all very well represented, seem completely like fakers. He is the painter of painters.”
– Édouard Manet
Author: Carl Justi
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ISBN: 978-1-68325-700-4
Carl Justi
Diego Velázquez
(1599-1660)
“The painters of every school who surround him in the museum of Madrid, and who are all very well represented, seem completely like fakers. He is the painter of painters.”
– Édouard Manet
Contents
Biography
Seville, 1599-1623
Madrid, 1623-1629
The First Trip to Italy, 1629-1631
Return to Madrid. The Buen Retiro Palace, 1630-1635
The Torre de la Parada, 1635-1640
The 1640s
Second Trip to Italy, 1649-1651
The Final Decade, 1651-1660
List of Illustrations
Self-Portrait, c. 1640
Oil on canvas, 45 x 38 cm. Museu de Belles Arts de València, Valencia
6 June 1599 Christened in Seville in the Church of San Pedro.
1609-1610 Trains under Francisco de Herrera the Elder.
1610 Moves to the school of Francisco Pacheco.
1617 Passes examination for the title of Master.
1618 Marries Pacheco’s daughter, Juana de Miranda.
1622 Journey to Madrid. Portrait of Don Luis de Gongora y Argote.
1623 Return to Seville. Departure for Madrid. Appointed Painter to the King.
1627 Participates in a competition for a painting on the subject The Expulsion of the Moors, which he wins. Appointed Gentleman Usher to the King (Uijer de cámara).
1628-1629 Rubens arrives in Madrid on a diplomatic visit.
1629 Rubens leaves Spain for England. Velázquez sails from Barcelona to Italy. Reaches Genoa from where he travels to Venice, Ferrara, and Rome. Prince Baltasar Carlos is born in Madrid.
1630 In Rome. Paints a self-portrait (lost), Vulcan’s Forge, and Joseph’s Bloody Coat Brought to Jacob. Leaves Rome for Naples.
1631 Returns to Spain.
1632 Paints the portrait Don Baltasar Carlos with a Dwarf.
1633 Velázquez’s fourteen-year-old daughter, Francisca, marries Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo. Together with Vicente Carducho inspects the quality of royal portraits in the palaces.
1634 Hands over his post as Gentleman Usher to Martínez del Mazo. Completes battle scenes for the Hall of the Kingdoms in the Buen Retiro Palace.
1635 The triumphal entry of the Cardinal Infante Ferdinand into Antwerp. The war with France begins.
1636 Receives the appointment as Gentleman of the Wardrobe (Ayuda de Guarda Ropa).
1640 A fire in the Buen Retiro Palace. Travels to Old Castile with Cano in search of paintings for the Buen Retiro Palace. Rubens dies. Philip IV acquires the Flemish artist’s works at the posthumous auction. Velázquez’s grandson, Jose, is christened.
1643 Receives the appointment as Gentleman of the Bedchamber (Ayuda de cámera). Count-Duke of Olivares is exiled. Martínez del Mazo is appointed Painter to Prince Baltasar Carlos.
1644 Among the King’s retinue in Aragón. Portrait of Philip IV. Queen Isabel of Bourbon dies. Francisco Pacheco dies in Seville.
1649 Sails from Málaga to Genoa. The new Queen, Mariana of Austria, arrives in Madrid.
1650 Elected a member of the Academy of Saint Luke in Rome. Accepted into the Congregazione dei Virtuosi in Rome. In this city, paints the portraits of Pope Innocent X, Cardinal Pamphili, Cardinal Camillo Massimi, Juan de Pareja, and others.
1651 Returns from his Italian journey. The Infanta Margarita is born.
1652 Appointed chief Chamberlain of the Imperial Palace. Velázquez’s grandson, Melchor Julian, is born.
1654 Velázquez’s daughter, Francisca, dies. Renovation of the decoration of the Escorial begins.
1655 Velázquez’s family moves to the Casa del Tesoro next to the Alcázar.
1656 Paints his masterpiece Las Meninas.
1658 Completes works in the Hall of Mirrors.
1659 Installed as a Knight of the Order of Santiago. The portraits Prince Philip Prosper and Infanta Margarita Theresa (1651-1673) in a Blue Dress are sent to Vienna.
6 August 1660 Velázquez dies.
