Velasquez (1599-1660)

Diego Rodriguez de Silva Velasquez was born of noble parents in Seville, in 1599, and died in Madrid in 1660. His father was Juan Rodriguez, his mother Geronima Velasquez, by whose name, according to Andalusian custom, he was called and is alone known in Art. The life of Velasquez is a happy contrast to that of most artists. It presents an even flow of prosperity from the dawning of his genius in early life in Seville to the crowning glory of knighthood bestowed upon him in Madrid. Philip IV., his patron and friend during the last thirty-eight years of his life, sent him twice to Italy: first to study in the various Italian schools for two years, during which time he painted two of his celebrated works, "The Forge of Vulcan" and "Joseph's Coat." He went the second time in his official capacity, as Court Painter to the King of Spain, to collect, at any cost, choice works of Art for the Royal Palace. The duties of his office also required him to superintend all Court ceremonies and festivals, the last over which he presided being the marriage ceremonies of the Infanta Maria Theresa (daughter of Philip IV.) to Louis XIV. of France (q.v.). From these ceremonies Velasquez returned to Madrid, on the 26th of June, so much exhausted that he died on the 6th of August, 1660. He was buried with magnificent ceremonies in the Church of San Juan; but the church being destroyed by the French in 1811, he, like Murillo in Seville, has neither grave nor tomb to mark the site. His last great painting was Las Meninas, or the Maids of Honor. It represents the royal family, the maids of honor, the artist, the dwarfs, and a sleeping hound. When the picture was completed he asked the King if anything was wanting; he answered, "Only one thing to make it perfect;" and taking the palette and brush from the artist's hand, painted the Cross of Santiago upon the breast of Velasquez in the picture. Thus his last great work brought him his highest honor, "a Knight of the Holy Order" of Spain. His "Water-Carrier of Seville" is a specimen of his wonderful power of expression. Only the old man, with his water-jars, and two thirsty boys, but one can look at their faces for hours. Then that still more powerful single figure of Barba Roja. How like an angry giant he stands, with his sword in one hand and the scabbard in the other. The sword point is turned down, but his firm-set lips and angry determined eyes express a defiance that fascinates. One looks in the direction he is looking and expects to see the foe he is defying, and our sympathy is with the brave old man. If Velasquez had painted these two pictures and no more, he would have been famous. The technical excellence of Velasquez shows that he worked leisurely for wealthy patrons, that he finished his works with deliberation and care, to meet the criticism of the connoisseurs of a royal court. There is also an intense national spirit in all his works; they are all close copies of Spain and her people; but in his conventional religious works, of which there are very few, he is not ideal. Even in his celebrated "Forge of Vulcan" the brawny smiths are all Spaniards. The beauty of human form makes up for the lack of divinity in his gods, and ranks this picture as one of the gems in the Sala de Isabel alongside of famous Italian masters. He married the daughter of Racheo, his first teacher. She survived him only eight days, and was buried in the same tomb. It is a source of great lamentation in Spain that her two greatest painters, who lived at the same time, were born in the same town, were the most thoroughly loyal subjects of the crown, the founders of her most characteristic schools of Art, Velasquez and Murillo, should have been so rudely snatched from their graves by a foreign foe that no one can say to-day, "This is the tomb of a man whom Spain delighteth to honor."