Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez (June 1599 - August 6 1660), known as Diego Velasquez, was a painter of the Spanish Golden Age who had considerable influence at the court of King Philip IV. ...Along with Francisco Goya and Le Greco, he is generally considered to be one of the greatest artists in Spanish history. His style, whilst remaining very personal, belongs firmly in the Baroque movement. Velazquez's two visits to Italy, evidenced by documents from that time, had a strong effect on the manner in which his work evolved. Besides numerous paintings with historical and cultural value, Diego Velasquez painted numerous portraits of the Spanish Royal Family, other major European figures, and even of commoners. His artistic talent, according to general opinion, reached its peak in 1656 with the completion of Las Meninas, his great masterpiece. In the first quarter of the 19th century, Velazquez's style was taken as a model by Realist and Impressionist painters, in particular by Edouard Manet. Since then, further contemporary artists such as Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali have paid homage to their famous compatriot by recreating several of his most famous works.
Während seiner gesamten fruchtbaren Karriere malte Velázquez die Mächtigen genauso gut wie die Normalbürger Spaniens. Sein Werk ist geprägt von Realismus, der den größten flämischen Meistern dieser ...Zeit in Nichts nachsteht, und trotz äußerer Einflüsse gelang es ihm zweifellos, seine eigenen künstlerischen Prinzipien zu entwickeln. Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) ist einer der berühmtesten Künstler der Welt. Als Vertreter der europäischen Malerei des 17. Jahrhunderts arbeitete er für den spanischen Hof und für die wichtigsten Persönlichkeiten dieser Zeit und vervollständigte zahlreiche Porträts. Die menschliche Figur faszinierte Velázquezund sein Werk umfasst auch Porträts von einzelnen Personen und Gruppen aus dem Volksleben, Darstellungen des täglichen Lebens in den Tavernen Spaniens. Als Vater der spanischen Malerei inspirierte und begeisterte Velázquez ganze Generationen von Künstlern, die ihm folgten, darunter Picasso, Dalí und Bacon. Sein mysteriöses Gemälde Las Meninas, das die Essenz seiner Arbeit enthält, ist bis heute eine unerschöpfliche Quelle für Schrift und Forschung.
All throughout his fruitful career, Velázquez painted the powerful just as well as the ordinary Spanish people. His body of work bears the imprint of realism worthy of the greatest Flemish masters of ...the period, and despite outside influences, he undeniably succeeded in developing his own artistic principles. Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) is one of the world’s most famous artists. Representative of 17th-century European painting, he worked for the Spanish court and for the most important personalities, completing numerous portraits. In addition to numerous renditions of scenes of historical and cultural significance, passionate about the human figure, his oeuvreofhis long artistic career of more than forty yearsalso encompasses representations of daily life in the taverns of Spain. Considered the father of Spanish painting, Velázquez inspired entire generations of artists who followed him, including Picasso, Dalí, and Bacon. His mysterious painting Las Meninas, which contains the essence of his work, is still today an inexhaustible source for writing and research.
Giles Knox examines how El Greco, Velázquez, and Rembrandt, though a disparate group of artists, were connected by a new self-consciousness with respect to artistic tradition. In particular, Knox ...considers the relationship of these artists to the art of Renaissance Italy, and sets aside nationalist art histories in order to see the period as one of fruitful exchange. Across Europe during the seventeenth century, artists read Italian-inspired writings on art, and these texts informed how they contemplated their practice. Knox demonstrates how these three artists engaged dynamically with these writings, incorporating or rejecting the theoretical premises to which they were exposed. Additionally, this study significantly expands our understanding of how paintings can activate the sense of touch. Knox discusses how Velázquez and Rembrandt, though in quite different ways, sought to conjure for viewers thoughts about touching that resonated directly with the subject matter they depicted.
