Diego Velazquez Biography and Artwork

By / May 7, 2024

Diego Velázquez was born in Seville, Spain in 1599 to parents of the lower nobility. He began his apprenticeship at the age of 11 under the Mannerist painter Francisco Pacheco, where he quickly surpassed his master in technical skill. Velázquez became one of Spain’s greatest baroque artists and is recognized as one of the greatest masters of art worldwide.

His life-long quest for fame, glory, and power was not limited to becoming the best painter in Spain but to achieve social status as well. Velázquez achieved this by climbing up the social ladder using his artistic talent to create portraits for influential people.

Velazquez’s signature style includes an emphasis on realism rather than idealism through bold brushstrokes and use of chiaroscuro (strong contrast between light and dark). One area he excelled at is portraiture, with some notable examples including “Portrait of Pope Innocent X” and “Las Meninas,” a group portrait that features him as an artist painting King Philip IV.

In conclusion, Diego Velázquez remains a prominent figure among art enthusiasts today who agree that he was not only one of Spain’s most significant painters but also managed to exemplify great business acumen by utilizing art for social purposes.

All Diego Velazquez Artwork on Artchive

Artwork Name Year Medium
A Buffoon (incorrectly called Antonio The Englishman) 1640 oil,canvas
Adoration of the Kings 1619 oil,canvas
The Buffoon Calabacillas, mistakenly called The Idiot of Coria 1639 oil,canvas
The Buffoon Juan de Calabazas (Calabacillas) c.1628 - c.1629 oil,canvas
The Court Dwarf, Don Franciso Lezcano called 'El Nino de Vallecas' 1637 oil,canvas
The Tapestry Weavers c.1655 - c.1660; Spain oil,canvas
The Gardens of the Villa Medici in Rome 1630 oil,canvas
The Infanta Margarita Teresa of Spain in a Red Dress 1653 oil,canvas
The Infanta Maria Marguerita in Pink 1659 oil,canvas
The Infanta Maria of Austria 1630 oil,canvas
The Infanta Maria Theresa, daughter of Philip IV of Spain 1651 - 1654 oil,canvas
The Jester Don Juan of Austria 1632 - 1633 oil,canvas
A Dwarf Holding a Tome in His Lap c.1645 oil,canvas
A Knight of the Order of Santiago c.1645 - c.1650 oil,canvas
Allegorical Portrait of Philip IV c.1645 oil,canvas
Arachne (A Sybil) c.1644 - c.1648 oil,canvas
A Sibyl 1630 - 1631 oil,canvas
A Spanish Gentleman (Jos Nieto, Chamberlain To Queen Mariana of Austria, Wife of Philip IV) c.1634 - 1635 oil,canvas
A White Horse 1635 oil,canvas
A Young Lady c.1635 oil,canvas
A young Man(Self-Portrait) 1623 - 1624 oil,canvas
Breakfast c.1618 oil,canvas
The Lady with a Fan c.1640 oil,canvas
The Lunch 1620 oil,canvas
The Needlewoman c.1635 - 1643 oil,canvas
The Rokeby Venus c.1644 - 1648 oil,canvas
The Virgin appearing to St Ildephonsus and giving him a robe 1620 oil,canvas
Three Musicians 1618 oil,canvas
Triumph of Bacchus 1628 oil,canvas
Two Young Men Eating At A Humble Table c.1622 oil,canvas
Villa Medici in Rome (Facade of the Grotto Logia) 1630 oil,canvas
Young Peasant Girl 1645 - 1650 oil,canvas
Cardinal Camillo Massimi 1650 oil,canvas
Coronation of the Virgin 1641 - 1644 oil,canvas
Count duke of Olivares c.1638 oil,canvas
Democritus 1628 - 1629 oil,canvas
Dona Antonia de Ipenarrieta y Galdos and her Son c.1631 oil,canvas
Don Baltasar Carlos with a Dwarf 1632 oil,canvas
Don Cristobal Suarez de Ribera 1620 oil,canvas
Don Gaspde Guzman, Count of Olivares and Duke of San Lucla Mayor c.1622 - c.1627 oil,canvas
Equestrian Portrait of Philip III c.1634 - 1635 oil,canvas
Equestrian Portrait of Philip IV 1634 - 1635 oil,canvas
Young Spanish gentleman 1630 - 1631 oil,canvas
Francisco Bandres de Abarca c.1638 - c.1646 oil,canvas
Head of a Girl 1618 chalk,paper
Head of a Man c.1616 oil,canvas
Head of a Stag 1634 oil,canvas
Infanta Maria Teresa 1648 oil,canvas
Isabella of Bourbon c.1625
Juan Mateos c.1634 oil,canvas
King Philip IV of Spain 1632 oil,canvas
Kitchen Scene with the Supper in Emmaus 1618 oil,canvas
Madre Maria Jeronima de la Fuente 1620 oil,canvas
Still Life oil,canvas
Menippos 1639 - 1641 oil,canvas
Mercury and Argus c.1659 oil,canvas
Miguel Angelo, Barber to the Pope 1650 oil,canvas
Philip IV in Armor c.1628 oil,canvas
Philip IV King of Spain c.1632 - c.1633 oil,canvas
Philip IV of Spain 1624 - 1627 oil,canvas
Philip IV of Spain in Brown and Silver 1631 - 1632 oil,canvas
Pope Innocent X 1650 oil,canvas
Portrait of a Cleric 1622 - 1623 oil,canvas
Portrait of a Lady 1633 oil,canvas
Portrait of a Little Girl c.1640 oil,canvas
Portrait of a Man 1626 - 1628 oil,canvas
Portrait of a Gentleman (supposedly Juan Mateos, Philip IV’s Master of the Hunt) c.1633
Portrait of a Man with a Goatee 1620 - 1622 oil,canvas
Portrait of a Young Man 1623 oil,canvas
Portrait of Cardinal Camillo Astali Pamphili 1650 oil,canvas
Portrait of Cardinal Infante Ferdinand of Austria with Gun and Dog 1632 oil,canvas
Portrait of Caspar de Guzman, Count of Olivares, Prime Minister of Philip IV c.1638 oil,canvas
Portrait of Don Diego de Corral y Arellano 1631 - 1632 oil,canvas
Portrait of Don Luis de Gongora y Argote 1622 oil,canvas
Portrait of Francesco I d'Este 1639 oil,canvas
Portrait of Infante Don Carlos 1626 - 1627 oil,canvas
Portrait of Mariana of Austria, Queen of Spain 1655 - 1657 oil,canvas
Portrait of Pedro de Barberana y Aparregui 1631 - 1632 oil,canvas
Portrait of Philip IV 1652 - 1653 oil,canvas
Portrait of Philip IV of Spain 1656 oil,canvas
Portrait of Queen Margaret of Austria 1634 - 1635 oil,canvas
Portrait of Queen Mariana of Austria oil,canvas
Portrait of the Buffoon 'Redbeard', Cristobal de Castaneda 1637 - 1640 oil,canvas
Portrait of the Count Duke of Olivares 1624 oil,canvas
Portrait of the Infanta Margarita c.1658 - 1660 oil,canvas
Portrait of the Infanta Margarita Aged Five 1656 oil,canvas
Portrait of the Infanta Maria Marguerita 1654 oil,canvas
Portrait of the Infanta Maria Teresa future Queen Marie Therese of France 1652 - 1653 oil,canvas
Portrait of the Sculptor, Juan Martinez Montanes 1635 oil,canvas
Price Baltasar Carlos 1632 oil,canvas
Prince Baltasar Carlos with the Count Duke of Olivares at the Royal Mews c.1636 oil,canvas
Prince Balthasar Carlos c.1639 oil,canvas
Prince Balthasar Carlos dressed as a Hunter 1635 - 1636 oil,canvas
Prince Balthasar Carlos on horseback 1634 - 1635 oil,canvas
Prince Philip Prosper, Son of Philip IV 1659 oil,canvas
Queen Isabella of Spain wife of Philip IV 1632 oil,canvas
Queen Isabel of Bourbon Equestrian 1634 - 1635 oil,canvas
Queen Isabel, Standing 1631 - 1632 oil,canvas
Queen Mariana 1652 - 1653 oil,canvas
Queen Mariana c.1655 - 1656 oil,canvas
Retrato de Don Sebastián Garcia de Huerta 1628; Spain canvas
Saint John at Patmos c.1619 oil,canvas
Saint Paul c.1619 - 1620 oil,canvas
Saint Thomas 1618 - 1620 oil,canvas
Self-Portrait c.1640 oil,canvas
Self-Portrait 1643 oil,canvas
Self-portrait c.1645 oil,canvas
St. Anthony Abbot c.1635 - 1638 oil,canvas
St. Anthony the Abbot and St. Paul the First Hermit c.1635 oil,canvas
St. Paul c.1619 - c.1620 oil,canvas
Study for the head of Apollo 1630 oil,canvas
Supper at Emmaus 1620 oil,canvas
Temptation of St.Thomas Aquinas c.1631 - c.1632 oil,canvas
Venus at Her Mirror (The Rokeby Venus) c. 1644-48 Oil
Philip Iv As A Hunter c. 1632-33 Oil
Menippus 1639-1641 Oil On Canvas
La Mere Jeronima De La Fuente 1620 Oil
Queen Isabel 1632 Oil
The Needlewoman c. 1640 Oil On Canvas
The Supper At Emmaus c. 1620 Oil On Canvas
Aesop 1639 - 1640 Oil on Canvas
Christ on the Cross 1632 Oil on Canvas
Juan de Pareja 1650 Oil on Canvas
Mars c.1640 Oil on Canvas
Self-Portrait 1630 Oil
The Forge of Vulcan 1630 Oil on Canvas
The Immaculate Conception c.1619 Oil on Canvas
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary c.1620 Oil on Canvas
Don Luis de Gongora y Argote 1622 Oil on Canvas
Infanta Margarita c.1660 Oil on Canvas
Las Hilanderas (The Spinners) c. 1657 Oil on Canvas
Old Woman Frying Eggs 1618 Oil on Canvas
Philip IV at Fraga 1644 Oil on Canvas
Prince Felipe Prospero 1659 Oil
Christ and the Christian Soul 1626 - 1628 Oil on Canvas
Innocent X 1650 Oil on Canvas
Maria Teresa of Spain (with two watches) 1652-53 Oil on Canvas
Philip IV in Brown and Silver 1631 - 1632 Oil on Canvas
The Buffoon Calabazas (Calabacillas) 1637-39 Oil
The Count-Duke of Olivares on Horseback 1634 Oil on Canvas
The Dwarf Francisco Lezcano, Called El Nino de Vallecas c. 1642-45 Oil on Canvas
The Dwarf Sebastian de Morra c.1645 Oil on Canvas
The Feast of Bacchus (Los Borrachos) c. 1629 Oil on Canvas
The Supper at Emmaus c. 1620 Oil on Canvas
Joseph's Bloody Coat Brought to Jacob 1630 Oil on Canvas
Las Meninas 1656 Oil on Canvas
Pablo de Valladolid 1636 - 1637 Oil on Canvas
Philip IV 1623 - 1624 Oil on Canvas
The Surrender of Breda 1634 - 1635 Oil on Canvas
The Waterseller of Seville 1623 Oil on Canvas

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