Famous Paintings by Diego Velázquez

Diego Velázquez is a leading Baroque artist of the Spanish Golden Age. He is well-known for his portraits of the Spanish royal family, being the court painter of King Philip IV.

Infanta Margarita Teresa in a Blue Dress is a well-known painting. It is an oil on canvas and one of the last paintings Velázquez created in 1659, a year before his death. The portrait is of Margaret Theresa of Spain. In this artwork the artist shows the technique of loose brushstrokes painting the eight-year-old Margaret. She wears a blue silk dress adorned with silver borders after the Spanish fashion of the era; the most striking characteristic is the huge expanse of the voluminous crinoline accentuated by the trimmed borders and the wide lace collar. In her hand is a brown fur muff.

Las Meninas is among his masterpieces. The artwork translates to “The Ladies-in-Waiting.” The painting depicts several members of the Spanish court. Besides Infanta Margaret Theresa, the viewer can also see the painter himself, and the king and queen are seen in a mirror in the background. They are painted in a room in the Royal Alcazar of Madrid during the reign of Philip IV.

Old Woman Cooking Eggs is one of the artist’s earliest artworks, dating back to his Seville period. There is a strong contrast between dark and light, and it is an example of realism in the early 17th century. There is a strong light source coming in from the left, illuminating the woman, her utensils, and the eggs, while throwing the background and the boy standing to her right into deep shadow.

Philip IV in Brown and Silver was among the 34 portraits created depicting King Philip IV of Spain. The signature is on the letter Philip holds, a fictive petition from the painter to him. This is a sign of the importance Velázquez attached to the artwork, as he only signed a few of his paintings.

The Equestrian Portrait of Prince Balthasar Charles is one of many portraits of members of the royal Spanish family. This portrait depict Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias, riding a horse. He was the only son go King Philip IV and his first wife, Elisabeth of France. It is among the artist’s most famous paintings.

The Portrait of Francisco Pacheco is among the many portraits created by Velázquez. (pictured above) In this artwork, Francisco Pacheco is the artist’s father-in-law, who was a successful painter himself. Pacheco was a Spanish artist, best known as the teacher of Alonso Cano and Diego Velázquez.

The Rokeby Venus, or Venus at Her Mirror, is among the most intriguing paintings by Velázquez. The painting depicts the goddess Venus in a sensual pose, lying on a bed with her back to the viewer. She is looking into a mirror that is held by the Roman god of physical love, her son Cupid.

The Rokeby Venus is the only surviving female nude by Velázquez.

The Surrender of Breda is a painting that depicts an important moment during the Eighty Years War (1568-1648), the military victory of the Spanish during the 1624 Siege of Breda. In the artwork, the viewer can see the moment the key of Breda is changed from Dutch possession to Spanish. On the right is the Spanish Genoese general Ambrogio Spinola, who receives the key from the Dutch leader Justinus van Nassau.

The Triumph of Bacchus was created just before Velázquez went to Italy in the late 1620s. The painting depicts the god of grape harvest, Bacchus, surrounded by wine drinkers who are all joining him in the mythical world. Bacchus and the character behind him are represented in the traditional loose robes used for depictions of classical myth.  There are elements of naturalism in this artwork, such as the bottle and pitcher.

The Waterseller of Seville is also from the artist’s Seville period. The painting depicts a water seller, which was a common profession in Seville among the lower classes. It is one of the three paintings on the same subject painted when the artist was in his late teens and early twenties. In this artwork it appears that the water seller was in a tavern.