1. Diego Velázquez

2. The Water Seller of Seville Diego Velázquez 1623 oil on canvas
As a formal style, Baroque is characterized by
open compositions in which elements are placed or seem to move diagonally in space
visual verisimilitude; naturalism; a desire for realism
What do you see?

3. detail: The Water Seller of Seville Diego Velázquez 1623 oil on canvas
Velázquez is demonstrating his virtuosity. How?
Hint: How many different textures can you identify?

4. The Water Seller of Seville Diego Velázquez 1623
Boy Bitten by a Lizard Caravaggio

5. Las Meninas or The Family of Philip IV Diego Velázquez 1656-1657 oil on canvas
How does Velázquez engage the viewer?
Where is the artist? What is the artist doing? How big is this work? Who is the subject of this work? Who is in the mirror?
Who is Velázquez’s patron? King Philip IV of Spain

6. Las Meninas or The Family of Philip IV Diego Velázquez 1656-1657 oil on canvas
How does the gaze govern the composition of this work?
Where is the viewer situated? Who is the subject of this work? How can the viewer tell?

7. Las Meninas or The Family of Philip IV Diego Velázquez 1656-1657 oil on canvas
How does this work exemplify the naturalism that is a characteristic of Baroque art?

8. Las Meninas or The Family of Philip IV Diego Velázquez 1656-1657 oil on canvas
As a formal style, Baroque is characterized by open compositions in which elements are placed or seem to move diagonally in space.
What do you see?

11. detail: Las Meninas Diego Velázquez
As a formal style, Baroque is characterized by a loose, free technique in which the artist uses rich colors and dramatic contrasts of light and dark.
What do you see?

12. detail: Las Meninas Diego Velázquez

13. detail: Las Meninas Diego Velázquez
…a self-portrait of the artist
Why is the hand blurry? What does this intentional decision signify?
What does the artist’s palette signify?

14. detail: Las Meninas Diego Velázquez

15. Las Meninas or The Family of Philip IV Diego Velázquez 1656-1657 oil on canvas

17. Las Meninas Pablo Picasso 1957

18. The most important fortress in the southern Netherlands was Breda in Brabant. Velázquez represents Spinola (Philip IV’s Spanish commander) as having dismounted from his horse to meet the Dutch commander, Justinus of Nassau, on equal footing. Instead of accepting the token of surrender, he places a hand on the Dutchman's shoulder, offering a consolation of one soldier to another.
One of the most important battles of the thirty years’ war—represents a courtly ideal of gentle-manly conduct.
The Surrender at Breda (The Lances) Diego Velázquez oil on canvas

19. detail: The Surrender at Breda (The Lances) Diego Velázquez 1634-35 oil on canvas

20. detail: The Surrender at Breda (The Lances) Diego Velázquez 1634-35 oil on canvas
…a self-portrait of the artist

21. detail: The Surrender at Breda (The Lances) Diego Velázquez 1634-35 oil on canvas
…this soldier is on the losing side

22. The Rokeby Venus or The Toliet of Venus ca. 1650
This is the only surviving example of a female nude by Velázquez. The subject was rare in Spain because it met with the disapproval of the Church. Venus, the goddess of Love, was the most beautiful of the goddesses, and was regarded as a personification of female beauty. She is shown here with her son Cupid, who holds up a mirror for her to look both at herself and at the viewer. 'The Rokeby Venus' is first recorded in June 1651 in the collection of the Marqués del Carpio, son of the First Minister of Spain. It was probably made for the Marqués and was presumably displayed privately, thus avoiding the censure of the Spanish Inquisition. In the Carpio collection, Velázquez's painting was paired with a 16th-century Venetian picture of a naked nymph in a landscape seen from the front. The painting is known as 'The Rokeby Venus' because it was in the Morritt Collection at Rokeby Hall in County Durham before its acquisition by the Gallery.
From The National Gallery (London) website.
The Rokeby Venus or The Toliet of Venus ca. 1650

24. The Rokeby Venus or The Toliet of Venus ca. 1650
This is the only surviving example of a female nude by Velázquez. The subject was rare in Spain because it met with the disapproval of the Church. Venus, the goddess of Love, was the most beautiful of the goddesses, and was regarded as a personification of female beauty. She is shown here with her son Cupid, who holds up a mirror for her to look both at herself and at the viewer. 'The Rokeby Venus' is first recorded in June 1651 in the collection of the Marqués del Carpio, son of the First Minister of Spain. It was probably made for the Marqués and was presumably displayed privately, thus avoiding the censure of the Spanish Inquisition. In the Carpio collection, Velázquez's painting was paired with a 16th-century Venetian picture of a naked nymph in a landscape seen from the front. The painting is known as 'The Rokeby Venus' because it was in the Morritt Collection at Rokeby Hall in County Durham before its acquisition by the Gallery.
From The National Gallery (London) website.
The Rokeby Venus or The Toliet of Venus ca. 1650 24

25. Francois Boucher The Toilet of Venus 1751

26. The Rokeby Venus or The Toliet of Venus ca. 1650
This is the only surviving example of a female nude by Velázquez. The subject was rare in Spain because it met with the disapproval of the Church. Venus, the goddess of Love, was the most beautiful of the goddesses, and was regarded as a personification of female beauty. She is shown here with her son Cupid, who holds up a mirror for her to look both at herself and at the viewer. 'The Rokeby Venus' is first recorded in June 1651 in the collection of the Marqués del Carpio, son of the First Minister of Spain. It was probably made for the Marqués and was presumably displayed privately, thus avoiding the censure of the Spanish Inquisition. In the Carpio collection, Velázquez's painting was paired with a 16th-century Venetian picture of a naked nymph in a landscape seen from the front. The painting is known as 'The Rokeby Venus' because it was in the Morritt Collection at Rokeby Hall in County Durham before its acquisition by the Gallery.
From The National Gallery (London) website.
The Rokeby Venus or The Toliet of Venus ca. 1650 26

27. Sleeping Venus Giorgione c. 1510

28. The Venus of Urbino Titian before 1538

29. The Grand Odalisque Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres 1814

30. Sleeping Venus Giorgione c. 1510
Olympia Manet 1863

31. The Clothed Maja Francisco Goya 1800-1803

32. The Nude Maja Francisco Goya 1797-1800