VELA´ ZQUEZ, DIEGO Rennert, Hugo Albert. The Life of Lope de Vega (1562– lington Museum, London), constitute the first co- 1635). New York, 1937. herent group of secular figural paintings by a Span- JODI CAMPBELL ish artist. These works probably were influenced by pictures of religious subjects with elaborate still life details by Flemish and north Italian artists such as Pieter Aertsen (c. 1508/09–1575) and Vincezo VELA´ ZQUEZ, DIEGO (Diego Rodrı´guez Campi (1536–1591). However, in contrast to these de Silva y Vela´zquez; 1599–1660), the most impor- prototypes, Vela´zquez reduced the scenes to their tant artist of the Spanish Golden Age. The son of essentials and focused upon a few naturalistically parents of the lower nobility, Vela´zquez was born in rendered figures and objects, strongly illuminated Seville, where he lived until he was twenty-four. against a neutral background. The quiet dignity of Between 1610 and 1616, he studied with Francisco the figures, and the monumental nature of the com- Pacheco (1564–1654), the leading painter of the positions, endow these images with a sense of tran- city. In 1618, he married Pacheco’s daughter, scendent importance. Juana. Although profoundly influenced by Pacheco’s commitment to the ideal of the learned In 1623, aided by courtiers from Seville, he painter, he did not imitate his master’s dry, Italian- obtained the opportunity to execute a portrait of ate style. Philip IV (ruled 1621–1665), which he revised a few years later (1623–1626, Museo del Prado, Ma- His early genre scenes, including An Old drid). Vela´zquez avoided the appearance of pomp Woman Cooking Eggs (1618, National Gallery of so typical of baroque court portraiture of the time. Scotland, Edinburgh) and Waterseller (1619, Wel- The elegant pose, aloof gaze, and smooth, even illumination suffice to indicate the dignity of a king. Philip immediately appointed Vela´zquez royal painter; during subsequent decades, the two devel- oped a close friendship, unprecedented between an artist and a Spanish monarch. Interaction with Peter Paul Rubens (1577– 1640) during Rubens’s visit to Madrid in 1628– 1629 decisively influenced the young artist, who sought to emulate the example of the painter-court- ier. Rubens stimulated Vela´zquez’s interest in the royal collection of Venetian paintings and encour- aged him to expand his range of themes. Vela´zquez’s first history painting, The Feast of Bacchus (1629, Museo del Prado, Madrid), intro- duced an unexpected melancholy note into the pop- ular mythological subject. The beggar, seeking alms from the peasants gathered around Bacchus, evokes the transience of the pleasure of wine. Despite its originality, the uncertain definition of space and the overcrowded composition reveal artistic deficien- cies. To give him the opportunity to improve his skills, Philip sent Vela´zquez to Italy for over a year (1629–1630). In Rome, he met leading artists and studied ancient and Renaissance works. The Forge of Diego Vela´ zquez. Self-portrait, 1623. ᮊARCHIVO Vulcan (1630, Museo del Prado, Madrid) demon- ICONOGRAFICO, S.A./CORBIS strated mastery of fundamental qualities of the Ital- 126 EUROPE 1450 TO 1789 VELA´ ZQUEZ, DIEGO Diego Vela´ zquez. Las Meninas (The Family of Philip IV). ᮊERICH LESSING/ART RESOURCE, N.Y. EUROPE 1450 TO 1789 127 VELA´ ZQUEZ, DIEGO ian classical tradition, including accurate anatomy, artistic production as he devoted himself to personal dramatic expressions and gestures, and spatial per- service to the king. His Venus and Cupid (c. 1648, spective. Also in Rome, he produced two views of National Gallery, London) is one of the few female the gardens of the Villa Medici (both 1630, Museo nudes by a Spanish artist of the early modern era. del Prado, Madrid), among the first European The sensual pose, provocative use of the mirror paintings to have been created directly from nature. image, and rich, luminous colors contribute to the Superimposing ‘‘broken’’ brushstrokes over a re- erotic allure of this image. Between 1649 and 1651, flective lead-white ground, he infused these seem- Vela´zquez traveled in Italy to purchase art for the ingly casual images with a sense of atmosphere. royal collection. His Innocent X (1649–1650, Returning to Madrid in 1631, Vela´zquez began Galleria Doria-Pamphili, Rome) expressed the in- the most productive decade of his career. By mid- tense psychological energy of the aging pontiff. At decade, he had devised a highly original method of the 1650 exhibition of Congregazione dei Virtuosi creating optical effects through the application of in Rome, he exhibited the recently completed Juan short, thick strokes of endlessly varied shapes and de Pareja (1650, Metropolitan Museum of Art, sizes. Thus, for example, when viewed from a dis- New York). Utilizing compositional formulae asso- tance, the jumbled brushwork covering the king’s ciated with aristocratic portraiture, he emphasized garments in Philip IV of Spain in Brown and Silver the dignity of his Moorish servant. (1635, National Gallery, London) becomes re- The exceptionally large Las meninas (1656; solved into a convincing record of the appearance of Maids of honor, Museo del Prado, Madrid) is re- embroidered fabric. Although enlivened by free garded as the quintessential expression of his artistic handling of paint and a brighter range of colors, the aspirations. Vela´zquez depicted himself standing later royal portraits retain the directness and natu- confidently at his easel, in the company of Princess ralness of his first works at court. Margarita and her attendants. Reflected in the mir- Throughout the 1630s, he supervised impor- ror on the back wall are the king and queen, whose tant decorative projects at royal palaces. For the visit to his studio signifies royal approval of his art. Hall of Realms in the Buen Retiro, Madrid, he Intrigued by Las meninas, Pablo Picasso devised a coherent program of battle paintings, mythological images, and portraits. For this series, (1881–1973) created forty-four variations upon it ´ he produced the Surrender of Breda (1635, Museo in 1957 (all in Museo Picasso, Barcelona). Edouard del Prado, Madrid), the masterpiece of the period. Manet (1832–1883) is among the many other By depicting the Spanish general with his arm upon modernist artists who found inspiration in the shoulder of the defeated Dutch leader, he visual- Vela´zquez’s works. ized the ideal of mercy in victory, treated in several See also Caldero´n de la Barca, Pedro; Philip IV (Spain); contemporary works by the court playwright Pedro Rubens, Peter Paul; Spain, Art in; Titian. Caldero´n de la Barca (1600–1681). Vela´zquez carefully studied portraits, battle plans, and other BIBLIOGRAPHY documentation in order to endow this imaginary Brown, Jonathan. Vela´ zquez: Painter and Courtier. New conception of the event with an aura of authenticity. Haven and London, 1986. A vividly written and exten- His paintings for the Torre de la Parada, a hunting sively illustrated study of all phases of the artist’s career. lodge near Madrid, included two sympathetic and Brown, Jonathan, and John H. Elliott. A Palace for a King: psychologically insightful portraits of dwarfs, Fran- The Buen Retiro and the Court of Philip IV. New Haven cisco Lezcano and Diego de Aceda (both 1636– and London, 1980. This comprehensive study of a 1640, Museo del Prado, Madrid). Also created for major decorative project examines Vela´zquez’s position the Torre, Mars (1640, Museo del Prado, Madrid) at court. wittily depicted the ancient god of war contemplat- Domı´nguez Ortiz, Antonio, ed. Vela´ zquez. Exh. cat. New ing his frustrations in love. York, 1989. This catalogue of the exhibition held 1989–1990 in New York and Madrid includes docu- In the last two decades of his career, Vela´zquez mentation on important works from all phases of the reduced the scope (though not the quality) of his artist’s career. 128 EUROPE 1450 TO 1789 VENICE Lo´pez-Rey, Jose´. Vela´ zquez: A Catalogue Raisonne´ of His was free and independent. One of the most success- Oeuvre. London, 1963. A useful catalogue of the artist’s ful states in Europe, it fell at last to Napoleon in entire production. 1797. RICHARD G. MANN MARITIME EMPIRE Venice’s unusual location and circumstances per- mitted its enterprising merchants to build a mari- VENALITY OF OFFICE. See time empire by 1300. It was founded in the sixth Officeholding. and seventh centuries by refugees from the main- land, who had been forced by the invasions of the Germanic Lombards to flee northern Italian towns. VENICE. One of the first cities in Italy to engage They settled on a cluster of low, sandy islands in the in international commerce after the devastations of Adriatic, where they were protected by the sea yet the early Middle Ages, Venice established a mari- had access in their boats and barges to the river time empire by 1300 and a territorial empire from mouths that led to inland cities. Primarily fish- the early 1400s. Its unique form of government, ermen, they also traded locally in fish and salt, which although not as perfect as its apologists claimed, was they manufactured from seawater. During the era of a model of a ‘‘mixed’’ constitution for the early the Crusades (eleventh through fourteenth centu- modern world. Adapting to changing circum- ries), Venice (as well as Genoa, on the western coast stances, its economy remained vibrant into the of the Italian Peninsula) entered into Mediterranean seventeenth century. It experienced little social tur- commerce, establishing merchant depots on islands moil, while its literary and artistic achievements and seacoasts along the route to the Levant (Near were rivaled only by those of Florence and Rome. East). In the late fourteenth century the rivalry be- For most of its thousand years of existence, Venice tween Venice and Genoa exploded into war.