On Friday 05 December 2025, we had the second instalment of our investigation into the life and work of Diego Velazquez with Jennifer, Velazquez had travelled around Europe visiting various royal houses, but was still seeking some form of ennoblement, especially after his meetings with Peter Paul Rubens in Spain.
We started with an analysis of his Bodegones works (see above), often depicting either still life subjects or domestics carrying out the daily chores in the palaces and mansions of the nobility. Jennifer was able to point out some of Velazquez models that appear in more than one of his paintings. With these works behind him, and much appreciation from their owners, Velazquez was able to progress his career and start painting members of the Royal Family.
He was able to paint King Philip IV and Queen Isabel – both on horseback, and then in a more personal and intimate indoor portrait. Other members of the Royal Household also featured, and he was commissioned to paint historic scenes like the Surrender at Breda.
Velazquez travelled to Italy to experience Italian Art, in part on the recommendation of Rubens, and after his stay in Italy he came back to Spain ‘a great artist!’ After the first trip, he painted several mythical scenes including Apollo in Vulcan’s Forge and Joseph’s Tunic (above) and it was clear to see how the exposure to Italian Art had enhanced his style.
We then saw his involvement with Bernini in the restoration of the Sleeping Borghese Hermaphrodite and the creation of the bronze replica of the statue for the Spanish Court. That was followed by a lengthy analysis of his painting ‘Las Hilanderas’ – The Spinners which has a mythical story in the foreground, a tapestry in the background, and members of the Spanish Court viewing the tapestry in the middle ground.
We then saw how his career in portraiture had advanced during his second trip to Italy and following his return to Spain. Of particular interest was his portrait of Pope Innocent X, which Jennifer compared to papal portraits by Titian and Raphael. Jennifer followed that with a detailed analysis of his most famous painting Las Meninas, in which he himself appears, and how that had been copied by Picasso, Salvador Dali and Sir Michael Craig amongst others.
After a break for teas and coffees, we continued our analysis of the Fab Four, looking at the paintings of the Spanish Royal Family, in particular the portraits of the children by Anthony van Dyck, and the problems that had led to the Spanish War of Succession. This was an extremely complicated family entanglement with inbreeding leading to failure to provide heirs to the throne. At one stage, we learned how a Royal Princess was betrothed by her father to her uncle! We learned how Prince Carlos had been born 5 days after his elder brother Philip Prospero’s death – being King of Spain at age 3 – and how Carlos had been made King of Spain aged 5.
This was our last session before the break for Christmas and New Year, and was our opportunity to express our appreciation to Jennifer for all her hard work.