Velazquez paintings

Velázquez was eighteen or nineteen when he painted this remarkable picture. It clearly demonstrates his flair for painting people and everyday objects directly from life. His fascination with contrasting materials and textures and the play of light and shadow on opaque and reflective surfaces resulted in brilliant passages of painting, especially the eggs cooking in hot oil and the varied domestic utensils. At the start of his career Velázquez painted a number of these kitchen or tavern…

Detail of "An Old Woman Cooking Eggs," 1618, Diego Velazquez

There are some paintings I have thought about a lot and with which I have long relationships. The recently rediscovered Portrait of a Man is one of them.

Velázquez Self-portrait

But we're only starting to learn the facts of artist Juan de Pareja's life.

"Portrait of a Man" circa 1635-45 by Diego Velázquez (Sevilla 1599-Madrid 1660). 76cm x 65cm. Oil on canvas. Wellington Museum, London. Spanish Painter. Important as a portrait artist. he painted scores of portraits of the Spanish royal family, other notable European figures, and commoners. Velázquez's artwork was a model for the realist and impressionist painters, in particular Édouard Manet. More modern artists, have paid tribute to Velázquez by recreating several of his most famous works.

The Classical Pulse: Master Painting: Velazquez Heads, Part 1