Updated December 2018

Diego Velazquez (1599 - 1660)

Baroque

In the vertical art storage rack, you will find the following: Large Reproductions: Portrait of the Infanta Margarita (1654), and Prince Baltasar Carlos on a Pony (1634) Posters: The Art Elements & Principles posters to use in the discussion On the NSS PTA website, you will find digital images available for download. These can be sent to the teacher to project on their Smartboards: Digital files: Portrait of the Infanta Margarita (1654), and Prince Baltasar Carlos on a Pony (1634), Portrait of the Infanta Margarita (1656), Portrait of the Infanta Margarita in Pink (1659), Portrait of the Infanta Margarita (1660), Head of a Stag (1634) In the black cabinet, you will find a white binder with a copy of this presentation and several laminated 8.5 x 11 prints of the other works referenced in this presentation.

Diego Velázquez

Art in the Classroom North Stratfield School

Personal Information Diego Velazquez was born in 1599, in Seville, Spain. He died in 1660 in Madrid, Spain. He was the oldest of six children, and his parents were from minor nobility. Professional Data Velazquez was a Baroque style painter which was a style popular in the 17th century during the Counter Reformation, mostly in Catholic countries. It is a style in which painters and architects tried to convey emotion, movement and variety in their works. Painting saints and madonnas did not interest Velazquez as much as real people did; instead, he painted people on the street, in stores, and working. These everyday scenes were called “bodegones”. They were popular but much too common to be considered works of art. Velazquez then took those realistic qualities that he became so proficient at capturing and put them in his religious scenes, giving them a new realism. After a trip to Italy in 1629, Velazquez began to use silvery tones and a wider range of color. His brushstrokes became freer, his shadows more transparent and his portraits took on a luminous quality. He is often compared to Renoir (1841-1919) and the two are unrivaled in their ability to paint children.

Between the ages of 12 and 18, Velazquez worked as an apprentice to Francisco Pacheco, a famous Spanish painter, who also became Velazquez’s father in law. In 1623, Velazquez was summoned to Madrid and appointed “Painter to the King”. The king was sixteen-year old Philip IV. Velazquez spent the next thirty years of his life painting the Spanish royal family of King Philip IV. Featured Artwork

Prince Baltasar Carlos on a Pony (1634) The prince, about age five at the time he sat for this portrait, exudes confidence as he grasps the reins and sits manfully in the saddle. His little legs reached only halfway down his pony’s bulging flanks, but his feet were firmly planted in his stirrups, his back was erect and his reins held high. He is shown here in his uniform as a little king, holding the staff of command and wearing across his chest the pink sash that denotes the highest military rank. His baby face is boldly painted. He is regal in bearing and yet still a child. This portrait is nearly seven feet high. The painting was intended to hang over a doorway between the portraits of his parents, in the king’s ballroom, the Hall of Realms. Velazquez had to take this into account in depicting the prince’s pony. When the pony is seen head on, the

Diego Velázquez

Art in the Classroom North Stratfield School

pony’s belly appears bloated, but when seen from below, the rider and pony seem less distorted. (You can show the students this by raising the artwork and tilting it away from their eyes at a 45-degree angle.) To the viewer, seeing it from below, the painting has an even more startling impact. In this work, Velazquez brushed on his paint so thinly that shadows seem transparent and features seem hazy. The shadow of the hat that crosses the prince’s brow is but a mere suggestion. The eyes seem mere dots and the nose an indistinct blob. Bright impressionistic touches of color on the bridle and the saddle, the clear blue of the sky, a fluttering pink scarf with a gold fringe, and the child’s rigid hold on the baton serve to increase the boy’s air of fragility. This picture of a horse and rider cantering across the slopes outside of Madrid was bathed in fresh outdoor light. General Discussion on the Artwork

• Ask the students to tell you what they think is the story of the painting. (The prince is five. He is wearing fancy clothes because he is someone important, the son of King Philip IV of Spain. He is riding in the countryside outside of Madrid, Spain. He appears serious and proud. He is an expert at riding a horse. The way his feet are secured, his erect posture, and the way he grasps both the reins and the baton show us that he is an expert.)

• Ask them if they think it was difficult for a five-year old to sit for a portrait. (Often artists

painted the child first and then filled in the details of the portrait once the child was finished sitting.) You can discuss with them the difference between then and now. Portraits were only done of the wealthy and powerful, because it cost a great deal of money to hire a painter. Today, however, we have cameras on our phones and we have lots of documentation of our family’s lives.

Talking about the Elements of Art Use the Elements of Art posters for discussion. How does Velazquez show the importance of the prince?

• Space: By placing him front and center in the painting and by taking up the most space.

• Color: The colors on him and the horse stand out more than the colors in the background.

• Light: The light falls on his face and the shadow falls on the ground and the sky which acts as a frame for the prince.

• Line Which diagonal lines show motion? (The horse, the baton, and scarf) Which vertical lines show stillness? (The prince)

Diego Velázquez

Art in the Classroom North Stratfield School

Princess Margarita Maria Velazquez painted more portraits of this little princess than any other member of the royal family. Princess Margarita, who later became the Empress of Austria at the age of fifteen, was the darling of the court. The fair-haired princess looked like a little doll dressed in long dresses covered with bows, ornaments, and lace. Velazquez, however, knew the princess as she really was: a lively, willful child. He knew he had to paint quickly before the princess became too restless. In this work she is about five or six years old, still soft and round with her baby flesh and gold hair. Against a background of shades of brown, the head of the child stands out like a flower or a patch of sunlight in a dark room. Her elaborate dress is painted in silvery tones of pearly gray, contrasted with black velvet. Ribbons, bows, and flowers in soft reds give a young and vibrant quality to the painting. Interestingly, the severe atmosphere of the painting also expresses the child’s destiny as inseparable from that of the state.

1654 1656

Diego Velázquez

Art in the Classroom North Stratfield School

1659

1660

General Discussion of the Artwork • What has the artist tried to tell us about this little girl?

Is she wealthy? How can you tell? • How is her dress different from what we wear today? • Can we tell much about her personality from the way the artist has posed her? • Do you think she is having fun? How long do you think she has to stay like that? • Is this portrait flattering? Realistic? Are there details? • Where is she looking? Does the fact that she is looking at us make us feel that she is important?

(Yes, as opposed to having downcast eyes.) • Why did people (the royal family in this case) have their portraits done? (There were no

photos.) Talking about the Elements of Art Use the Elements of Art posters for discussion

Diego Velázquez

Art in the Classroom North Stratfield School

• Color What are color is in the background? Do you think you would get the same feeling from this painting if she were standing in a lighter colored room? Is there one dominant color? What are the only splotches of color in this? Do you think the artist did this deliberately? Do they form a pattern or rhythm?

• Light

Is there natural light? Where is it coming from? Does that make her seem more important to the viewer?

• Texture

Look at the way Velazquez painted the fabrics in her dress or the curtains? What you think they are made of? Velvet? Silk? How do you think he did this?

Head of a Stag (1634) In addition to people, Velazquez also painted animals. They are very realistic. General Discussion of the Artwork • Do you think Velazquez approaches a portrait of an

animal differently than a person? Explain why you think that?

• How do you think he was able to paint this animal? Talking about the Elements of Art Use the Elements of Art posters for discussion • Color

Do these colors look bright? Muted (dull)? What about the highlights in the clouds? Do you think it looks like a sunny day?

• Light Is there natural light? Where is it coming from? There is a lot of contrast in this painting. Contrast is when an artist uses light and dark color to make the subject stand out strongly. Was Velazquez successful?

• Texture

Where do you see the brushstrokes? How do the brushstrokes help you believe that the fur is really fur or that the clouds are really clouds? Does the fur look soft? Do the antlers look hard?