Velazquez (National Gallery Publications)

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Born in Seville in 1599––possibly to a noble family––Velázquez was trained by Francisco Pacheco, whose daughter he married in 1618. After leaving the studio of his father-in-law for Madrid and the court of Philip IV, he began painting from life and developed his virtuoso style marked by loose brushwork and breathtaking naturalism.
This book introduces Velázquez and his milieu, tracing his development from the earliest Sevilian bodegones [still lifes] to his late mythological pictures and the great series of royal portraits. With a chronology and an absorbing and accessible text, it features fifteen carefully chosen and beautifully reproduced masterpieces.