Paintings between 1641 and 1650
by VELÁZQUEZ

In the 1640s Velázquez continued to paint the excellent portraits of dwarfs and fools such as the dwarfs El Niño de Vallecas, Sebastian de Morra and El Primo. With his brilliant powers of observation and his psychological sensitivity, Velázquez recorded every detail of the physical abnormalities and confused minds of this curious class of society.

As a court painter, Velázquez was required to paint group portraits as well as portraits of individual figures. Another of the tasks required of Velázquez, though to a lesser extent, was the painting of altarpieces. The Coronation of the Virgin was painted around 1645, possibly for the queen's oratory in the Alcázar in Madrid.

Velázquez was sent in 1649 to Rome, where he made two of his greatest portraits, one of Pope Innocent X and another, of his studio assistant Juan de Pareja, a Sevillian of Moorish descent. He also painted the Rokeby Venus, his only surviving picture of this kind, which remained unique in Spain until Goya depicted the Naked Maja, which was probably inspired by it.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 13 minutes):
Arcangelo Corelli: Sonata in D minor (La Follia) op. 5 No. 12

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
Self-Portrait
1643
Oil on canvas, 70 x 58 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

498*600
True Color
79 Kb



Self-Portrait
c. 1645
Oil on canvas, 104 x 83 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

850*1006
True Color
109 Kb



The Dwarf Francisco Lezcano, Called "El Niño de Vallecas"
1643-45
Oil on canvas, 107 x 83 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

820*1090
True Color
91 Kb



The Dwarf Sebastian de Morra
c. 1645
Oil on canvas, 106,5 x 81,5 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

850*1106
True Color
98 Kb



Don Diego de Acedo (El Primo)
c. 1645
Oil on canvas, 106 x 83 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

820*1068
True Color
88 Kb



Phillip IV in Army Dress (The portrait of Fraga)
1644
Oil on canvas, 133,5 x 95 cm
Frick Collection, New York

809*1057
True Color
90 Kb



Arachne
1644-48
Oil on canvas, 64 x 58 cm
Meadows Museum, Dallas

950*1049
True Color
106 Kb



The Coronation of the Virgin
1645
Oil on canvas, 178 x 135 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

900*1220
True Color
168 Kb



The Coronation of the Virgin (detail)
1645
Oil on canvas
Museo del Prado, Madrid

1039*1000
True Color
141 Kb



View of Zaragoza
1647
Oil on canvas, 181 x 331 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

1039*548
True Color
145 Kb



Portrait of a Man
c. 1649
Oil on canvas, 76 x 64,5 cm
Wellington Museum, Apsley House, London

873*1100
True Color
146 Kb



Portrait of Innocent X
c. 1650
Oil on canvas, 141 x 119 cm
Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome

950*1153
True Color
139 Kb



Pope Innocent X
c. 1650
Oil on canvas, 49,2 x 41,3 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington

490*600
True Color
61 Kb



Juan de Pareja
c. 1650
Oil on canvas, 81,3 x 69,9 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1000*1153
True Color
125 Kb



Venus at her Mirror (The Rokeby Venus)
1649-51
Oil on canvas, 122,5 x 177 cm
National Gallery, London

1171*800
True Color
116 Kb




Summary of paintings by Velázquez
until 1620 | 1621-1630 | 1631-1635
Surrender of Breda | Equestrian portraits
Las Meninas | Las Hilanderas
1636-1640 | 1641-1650 | 1651-1660