
Velazquez
Las Meninas and the Late Royal Portraits
Javier Portus(Editor)
Thames & Hudson Ltd (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 27. January 2014
Book
Hardback
176 pages
978-0-500-97058-4 (ISBN)
Description
This book presents a complete survey of one of the key moments in the history of the Spanish court portrait, a period spanning the years 1650 to 1680. In 1650 Velazquez was in Rome, where he depicted members of the papal court with a new freedom of approach, while the following year saw his keenly awaited return to Spain, where he returned to the conventions of the court portrait. From that point onwards and until his death in 1660, Velazquez devoted most of his efforts to satisfying a growing demand for portraits of the Spanish royal family. These images were used for both family and diplomatic purposes, given that Philip IV's children with his last wife, Mariana of Austria, were essential elements in the strategic creation of political alliances across Europe. These last ten years of Velazquez's career constitute a period with a marked and distinctive personality. His sitters were now primarily women and children rather than men, a difference that was accompanied by changes in the density of the pigment, the pictorial handwriting and the colour range, which became wider and richer. In terms of artistic achievement and social advancement, this decade marks the peak of Velazquez's career, with Las Meninas as his great masterpiece.
Reviews / Votes
'Illuminating' - ApolloMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
9 Illustrations, black and white; 83 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 280 mm
Width: 240 mm
Weight
1240 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-500-97058-4 (9780500970584)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Javier Portus is a curator and the head of the department of Spanish Painting (until 1700) at the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.
Content
Introduction * Diego Velazquez, 1650-60: portraiture and court culture, Javier Portus * Dynastic and cultural relations between the two lines of the Habsbur g dynasty and their effect on Velazquez' s work, Andrea Sommer- Mathis * It was an astonishing ending. Still, it was an ending, Miguel Moran * Catalogue, Javier Portus * Bibliography