Diego Velazquez
1599-1660 · Spanish (Seville/Madrid) · Spanish Golden Age, Baroque
Known for: Court painter to Philip IV who created Las Meninas, one of the most analyzed paintings in art history
Velazquez served as court painter to King Philip IV for nearly 40 years, producing works of such psychological depth that Manet called him 'the painter of painters.' His Las Meninas - a painting within a painting that questions the nature of seeing itself - is widely considered one of the greatest paintings ever made.
He painted dwarfs, jesters, and servants with the same dignity as kings, revolutionary for his time. His handling of light, space, and atmosphere directly anticipated Impressionism by two centuries.
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