Portrait of Diego Velázquez

In Rome, the painter had a professional relationship, not to mention friendship, with Velázquez, the prestigious Sevillian painter represented in the present canvas. The sitter's gaze is captivated by what he is painting, as he emerges from a dark background holding palette and brushes.

Even though it might seem inspired by the self-portrait in Velázquez's Las Meninas, it could have been conceived with the sitter present.