The Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain (1651) by Diego Velázquez
Diego Velázquez is regarded as one of the most prominent painters of the 17th century and a forerunner of realism. So said my art history professors. Los Meninas was considered by them to be the height of his innovation, as it depicts him, the artist, sitting and painting a portrait of the Spanish court life that goes on all around him, with the focus being on the young princess Margareta Theresa. He never did another painting like it again. I can guess he got bored with the same old, same old, of Royal portraits and wanted to try something new, and the reception was not enthusiastic.
Even if you haven’t studied art history you may be familiar with Velázquez’s work from his painting The Triumph of Bacchus and his series of portraits of the spectacularly unattractive Phillip IV of Spain and Mariana of Austria, his wife, both of them encumbered by the mighty Hapsburg jaw. These paintings look odd and stilted to me compared to the personalities that came across in his other portraits. It looked like he was trying to make the best of the face he was given, but there was only so much he could do to make it attractive while still being recognizable.
He also did some tender portraits of children and paintings of the Spanish middle class and had a soft spot for jesters and dwarves, not considered appropriate subjects at the time. His religious pictures are so-so, IMO — too much pink and blue — but he also worked pagan Roman themes. One thing he did not do was still lifes. But I’m going to assume he did and they were just lost over the centuries. Shit happens; there are fires and uprisings, canvases are trimmed down, works are stolen or destroyed. Therefore, here’s a list of some Velázquez paintings that yet to be rediscovered.
The Lost Artwork of Diego Velázquez
| A Coin Minter of Seville
Two Dwarves Posing in Armor Before a Fountain The Widowed Scholar The Boisterous Cavalier Still Life with Coins and Keys Merchant Alarmed by a Mouse Christ and the Juniper Tree The Young Chatelaine and Her Lute The Island of Forgiveness Virgin Crowned with Laurel Leaves |
A Fool and His Whipped Hand
Head Study of the German Envoy Sketch of a Cottage in a Rainstorm Bacchus and His Maenads The Serpent’s Gluttony Self-Portrait with a Lance The Young Farmer and His Wife The Infanta and the Jester Sanchez Mercury and Mars Observe a Comet Saint Aloysius in the Wilderness |
