Diego RodrIguez de Silva y VelAzquez, European Art, 1600 To The Present, Biographies

Related Category: European Art, 1600 To The Present, Biographies

VelAzquez's development as an artist was uncommonly steady. His first forms were monumental and powerful, enveloped in a strong chiaroscuro. The artist slowly evolved an extraordinarily subtle art based on exquisite color values, of which he remains the unrivaled master. His cool palette and consummate use of silver tones in conjunction with brilliant color sometimes recall El Greco. In spirit, however, VelAzquez is far removed from the art of El Greco due to his worldliness and compassion for all levels of humanity. He imbued all human beings from dwarfs to kings with a sense of dignity and individual worth.

VelAzquez had many followers. His son-in-law Mazo imitated his portrait style so successfully that many works now thought to be his were formerly attributed to VelAzquez. But in his great works VelAzquez has never been successfully imitated. His mature works are very few : some say not more than 100. He was obliged to produce replicas of many of his court portraits. Some of these were executed by Mazo, and all are inferior to the originals. VelAzquez can be fully appreciated only in Madrid, although more or less authentic examples of his work are to be seen in many galleries in Europe and the United States.