VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y
(b. 1599, Sevilla, d. 1660, Madrid)

Self-Portrait

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

The painter's aristocratic stance carries over into 'sprezzatura' or courtly nonchalance, of his brushwork. Two examples: a few dryer strokes at the neck for his linen, and a more charged brush for sword hilt and belt.