Velazquez

Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez; 1599–1660) was a Spanish painter of the Baroque era, regarded as one of the most important artists of the Spanish Golden Age. Born in Seville, he trained with Francisco Pacheco and married Pacheco's daughter, Juana, in 1618. He gained early recognition in Seville for religious and genre scenes before moving to Madrid to work for King Philip IV.

In Madrid, Velázquez served as court painter (pintor de cámara) from around 1623 and produced portraits of the royal family and court officials, as well as large-scale history paintings. He traveled within Spain for commissions and, according to some sources, visited Italy in the late 1640s to study masters there and bring ideas back to Spain.

Notable works include Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor, 1656), celebrated for its complex composition and inward gaze; The Surrender of Breda (1634–35), depicting a key moment of the Dutch conflict; The Water Carrier of Seville (c. 1620s–30s), an example of his genre realism; and portraits such as Pope Innocent X (c. 1650s). His work is characterized by luminous light, precise observation of people, and a deft handling of texture and space.

Velázquez's influence extended beyond his own century. He is regarded for advancing naturalism in portraiture and for integrating figure, surface, and perspective in ways that influenced later European painters, including Goya and the broader development of Spanish art.