 |
| Las Meninas |
Velasquez was a Baroque Spanish
painter born in 1599. His amazing talent
was recognised while he was young. Just below
you will see a picture called The
Waterseller of Seville which was painted before he was even 21.
His
most famous work is Las Meninas (or
the Maids of Honour) (see pic at the top of the post) which hangs in pride of place in the Prado museum in
Madrid. It was painted 4 years before his death at the age of 61.
This painting shows the Princess surrounded
by her ladies/attendants and also show the artist himself. You will see that there is a red cross on his
chest. It is said that this was added
after his death by the King (Phillip IV) himself to acknowledge the honour that
had been conferred on him. And another
quirk is that the reflections of the King and Queen can be seen on the rear
wall of the painting.
But
I like this more informal painting – The Forge of Vulcan.
I remember studying this artist back in our home schooling days. We saw some of his paintings at the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth. Amazing artist!! I need to visit a museum again soon!
ReplyDelete