Celebrated 17th-century painter Diego Velázquez, a master of portraiture and perspective and the leader of the Spanish school, was a fixture in the royal court of Spain for much of his life. Today his paintings are coveted by museums and private collectors around the world; a 1985 poll of artists and critics in the Illustrated London News deemed Velázquez’s Las Meninas “the world’s greatest painting.” Yet a comprehensive exhibition of his works has never been presented in France—until now.
Currently on view at the Grand Palais in Paris is “Velázquez,” a retrospective that spans the artist’s long career, from his time as an artistic apprentice to Francisco Pacheco, whom he worked for beginning at age 12, to the last decade of his life, which was spent producing portraits of the royal family.
Treasures on view include the Italian-inspired “Rokeby Venus” (which was famously attacked by a suffragist in 1914), the irresistible equestrian portrait of a toddler Prince Baltasar Carlos, and the true-to-life portrait of the notoriously unattractive Pope Innocent X.
Click here to see works in the exhibition.
Through July 13 at the Grand Palais, 3 avenue du Général Eisenhower, Paris; grandpalais.fr
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