CDR-1343: SR Set: Velázquez in Vienna

Exhibitions of works of art by great masters are exceptional and increasingly rare. In the planning stage for ten years, one such special exhibition opened at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna in November of 2015. As the Spanish Queen—who was present for the opening of the show-- remarked, the close relationship between Austria and Spain allowed for a rapid exchange of works of art by Velasquez, the court painter in Madrid. The exhibition--and Scholars Resource’s Image Set--begins with Velázquez'early years in Seville in the studio of his teacher Francisco Pacheco (whose daughter he married), his exploration of genre subjects (bodegones) and religious paintings. In his 37 years as court painter (beg.in Oct. 1623), Velázquez was free to develop his rich style of portraiture culminating in the Las Meninas. It is thought that the “portraits of the Spanish Hapsburgs painted in profusion by Velazquez are surely among the finest and best examples of court portraiture in the history of European art.” (Norbert Wolf: Diego Velazquez, 1599-1660, The Face of Spain).

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