|
 |
Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599 - 1660)
Spanish painter, born 1599 in Seville, a descendant of an aristocratic Portuguese family from Opporto. In accordance with Andalusian custom, he adopted the name of his mother. After a brief apprenticeship to F. Herrera the Elder, from about 1612 he became a pupil of F. Pacheco for a period of five years, ultimately marrying the latter's daughter in 1618. In 1623 he became "Pintor del Rey" and from 1627 onward lived as court painter in the king¿s palace. Shortly after this date Velazquez made the friendship of Rubens. From 1629 to 1631 he travelled to Italy, visiting Genoa, Venice, Rome and Naples, to study the great Renaissance artists and to purchase paintings for Philip IV of Spain. In 1643 he became "Ayuda de Cámara" and in 1647 superintendent of buildings in Alcázar. From 1649 to 1651 he undertook a second journey to Italy to purchase further paintings for the newly built gallery of the king in the palace in Madrid. Overburdened by the exercise of too many offices at court, he died in Madrid in 1660. |
|
|
|
