!00 paintings an artist should know unit 9

21) Las Meninas Diego Velazquez 1599-1660
Velazquez was the official court painter of Philip IV of Spain. Las Meninas above shows the daughter of the king, Margaret Theresa and her handmaidens and a pet dwarf or two. Velazquez is painting over on the left side of the canvas.He had been a part of the court for thirty three years when he painted this. He and the king had become close and Philip wrote that he was "crushed" when Vealzquez died.

22) Velazquez, The surrender at Breda
The Spanish conquered the town of Breda in what is now the Netherlands in 1625. One of the interesting things about this picture is the row of upright pikes on the right balanced by a smaller number of halberds on the left. This is an unusual and distinctive motive. The "key" to the city being handed over by the vanquished commander is at the center of the scene, everything else revolves around that.

23) Velazquez, The water seller of Seville.
I chose this painting because it is a good example of the type of Velazquez painting that was a tremendous influence on 19th century art. His painting became all the rage in 19th century France and many artists built their technique on his style. He painted with long bristled brushes and in a loose and planar style. Velazquez extremely restrained palette and frequent use of black and gray was a big influence through Carolus Duran on John Sargent. I want to stress again the chains of influence that run through traditional painting.
images from artrenewal.org