Diego Velázquez

“ The most devoted adherent of Velazquez, although not bound to him by ties of relationship, was his ancient mayordomo mayor, Diego de Ordaz, [8] a powerful man, of large stature, with full face, thin, dark beard, and stuttering speech. As a leader of footsoldiers, for he did not ride, he gained the reputation of possessing great daring, as well as a good head; and among comrades he ranked as a liberal man and a conversationalist. Of the other captains, Francisco de Salcedo, reputed chief butler to the admiral of Castile, bore the sobriquet of 'Dandy' from his spruce manner ”

“ Here, too, Goya astonishes us with his vigorous and wonderful art; there are admirable paintings by El Greco, by Ribera, by Murillo; but we can see nothing but Velazquez. And the emotion of first seeing these pictures is one of awe. We are not in the presence of an Old Master, but of a painter who in his perfect art forestalled every modern movement in painting. This is why Velazquez stands alone among artists. And the lover of art journeys to the Prado that he may study his pictures, as the pilgrim journeys to the shrine of his saint. ”

“ A longing to see the Tintorets and Titians, those starry treasures of the dark Escorial, drew him to Madrid at twenty-three. Here he was fortunate in finding friends, who brought his portraits to the notice of Philip IV, a dissolute boy ruled by the Count-Duke Olivares. Youth inclines to youth. Velázquez was appointed painter to the king at the same salary as that paid to the royal barber, and henceforth he had no care in life but to paint. ”

“ Then again, the atmosphere of the Madrid court, for all its dulness and secrecy and unhealthy ways, was not as it became under Charles III., when Godoy played the part of Count Olivarez, and the Countess Benavente, the Duchess of Alba, and other women as frail as they were beautiful, did not hesitate to indulge in open intrigue with the king's painter. Turn to the canvases of Velazquez and you will not find a woman who was fascinating enough to have been worth the trouble and danger of an intrigue. ”

“ We are of opinion that Cortes does not act rightly towards us. At Cuba he made known that he was going out to found a colony, and now we hear that he was not empowered to do so, but was merely sent out to barter for gold, and then to return to Cuba with all we should make. If this takes place, we are altogether ruined men, and Diego Velasquez will himself comfortably pocket the gold, and keep it, as he has on previous occasions. ”

“ SPANISH ART—VELASQUEZ, 1599-1660—MURILLO, 1618-1682.
Spanish art, from its dawn to the time of Velasquez, had been of a 'severely devotional character,' austere and formal; and although one man did not work a revolution by his independent example, he did something to humanize and widen art. In the rich city of Seville in 1599, Diego Rodriguez, de Silva y Velasquez,—and not, as he is incorrectly called, Diego Velasquez de Silva, was born, and, according to an Andalusian fashion, took his mother's name of Velasquez, while his father was of the Portuguese house de Silva. ”

“ Now, while Velázquez molds that will into organic form, his king loses Portugal, loses the Netherlands, loses the Roussillon, half the Pyrenees, and faces insurrection in Barcelona, Spain’s European port.
The will of Velázquez’ art is objective form. Bodily substance becomes real. Man’s moods and passions in themselves suffice. They have their value not in some rapt design beyond man’s body or in employing it to mystic ends: the world of appearance is the world. Velázquez’ traits are traits of modern Europe. Mysticism disappears, both in immanent and transcendental form. ”

“ In the year 1511 Diego, Columbus’ son, finding that the gold mines of Hispaniola were nearly exhausted, decided to take possession of the neighboring island of Cuba, or Fernandina, as it was called, in honor of the King of Spain. The force which he sent for the capture of the island was placed under the command of Velasquez, [1] a man described by his contemporaries as possessing extraordinary experience as a soldier, having served seventeen years in European campaigns, also of a renowned family and name, eager for glory and yet ambitious for wealth. ”

“ The next Sunday, when Diego Velasquez was on his way to church, and in company with the principal persons of the town, he placed Cortes on his right side to do him honor. While they were on the road a jester, nicknamed Fool Cervantes, ran in front of the governor, playing pranks and cracking all sorts of jokes. "Alas! alas! my friend Diego," he cried, "what manner of captain have you chosen? He of Medellin in Estramadura! A captain to try his luck in no little way. Have care that he does not run off with your fleet, for you can see by his face he is terrible when once he begins." ”

“ The great Velazquez, the eagle in art—subtle, simple, incomparable—the supreme painter, is still a guiding magnet of the art of to-day. This greatest of Spanish artists, a master not only in portrait painting, but in character and animal studies, in landscapes and historical subjects, impressed the grandeur of his superb personality upon all his work. Spain, it has been said, the country whose art was largely borrowed, produced Velazquez, and through him Spanish art became the light of a new artistic life. ”

“ In the second place, as I deem it but honesty to acquaint thee, if the youth be taken from this land, he will first be sent to the excellent señor, the honourable Don Diego Velasquez, governor of Cuba, to be disposed of by him as may seem most agreeable to his judgment; and I warn thee, if the lad be an adept at the lute, as is asserted, Don Diego will find him such employment in twangling to the ladies of our brave cavaliers, as will leave it uncertain how much sooner than doomsday he will bethink him to advance the poor youth on his voyage. ”

“ The two officers glanced at one another significantly as they moved away out of hearing, and Velasquez remarked irritably to his companion—
"Talk of true hearts, indeed! That Diego yonder is making the General well-nigh as soft-hearted as himself. What is a soldier, i' faith, if he sets up to have feelings for his foes?"
"I will tell thee," said the calm, clear voice of Montoro unexpectedly. "I will tell thee, friend Leon. He is then a true knight, such a knight as our Cid would have called comrades with, and not a rascal. But the General is calling for us. ”

“ Velazquez was painting the portrait of a stupid little infanta when the idea came to him of perpetuating the scene just as it was. We know how we have wished to be sure of the exact accessories of past events. The modern rage for theatrical local color is an illustration of this desire. The great artist, who must have honored his art, determined to give to future ages an exact picture of one instant of his glorious life. It is not too much to say he has done this. He stands before his easel, his pencils in his hand. The little princess is stiffly posing in the centre. ”

“ This man, known in private life as Don Louis de Hacedo, accompanied Philip on a tour, and he seems to have been a studious person, because the artist has depicted him with book, pen, and paper, and given him a refined expression. The others have little to redeem their ugliness and deformity. The child of Vallecas seems to be the dwarf who figures with Don Balthasar Carlos in the first picture that Velazquez painted of the unfortunate young prince, the one that is now in America. He has grown a little older and a little more ugly in the canvas that is devoted entirely to his portrait ”

“ Perhaps there are pleasant surprises yet in store for the art world, for many pictures are still untraced. Doubtless some have been destroyed by fire and others are in half-forgotten lumber rooms of palaces and galleries from which they will be gathered in due course. Velazquez owes a large part of his popularity in Spain to-day to the measure of appreciation he has secured beyond the borders. Every second-hand dealer in Madrid or Seville has a "genuine Murillo" to offer the stranger. ”

“ Let them start again; but I am afraid that my twenty crowns are yours, Grand Master; your man is in fine play."
I looked into the court. Diego, lithe and sinewy, with his cropped black hair, high colour, and quick shallow eyes, bounded here and there, swift and active as a panther. Seeing him thus, with his heart in his returns, I could not but doubt; more, as the game proceeded, amid the laughter and jests and witty sallies of the courtiers, I felt the doubt grow; the riddle became each minute more abstruse, the man more mysterious. ”

“ In this collection of his works, as indeed, in all those from the brush of this master, one could study the origin of the greyish tonality characteristic of the Spanish school which he was the first to introduce and give effect to, and to which Velázquez, in later years, gave definite form, thus founding a technical characteristic of the school. It may interest those curious regarding such problems of painting that the shadows which abound in the works of El Greco, though intense, are never black,{10} and this lends to them a singular profundity and atmosphere. ”

“ Nor can we forget his ideal portrait of “Æsop,” with his book under his arm. How well we know that book of fables! The rugged, good-natured face, homely as can be, holds us, as by a spell, and if we have not already done so, we read his book because we must, after looking into that dear old face.
One of the loveliest things we remember of Velazquez was his kindness to Murillo when he came to Madrid, a poor art student. Although Velazquez was rich and his pictures in demand, he took a keen interest in the young Murillo, who should one day stand beside him—they two the greatest artists of Spain. ”

“ She was about the age of Velasquez, gentle, refined and amiable. Love is largely a matter of propinquity: and the world now regards Pacheco as a master matchmaker as well as a master painter. Diego and Juana were married, aged nineteen, and Pacheco breathed easier. He had attached to himself the most daring and brilliant young man he had ever known, and he had saved himself the annoyance of having his studio thronged with a gang of suitors such as crowded the courts of Ulysses. ”

“ The painting is firm and solid, and the light and shade are more deftly handled than in former works. Altogether, this production may be taken as the most advanced example of the first style of Velazquez. It is usual to divide his artistic career by his two visits to Italy, his second style following the first visit and his third the second. ”

“ Then followed for the governor nights of troubled dreams and days of irritable indecision. It was a peculiar personage Velazquez wanted. He must be, in Mexico, courageous, wise, and prudent; in Cuba, obedient, teachable. He must be able to command men, to brave the proudest barbarian, and so fired by enthusiasm in the field as cheerfully to endure hardships and risk life; his work successfully accomplished, he must return humbly to Santiago, and lay his trophies at the feet of his master. Grijalva was most nearly such a man ”

“ Look at the picture long enough, and the illusion seizes you that you are really looking into a room of the gloomy old palace of the Alcazar, the Court of Philip IV, where Velasquez lived and worked the greater part of his working life. You can walk into that room where he stands at work before a big canvas, look over his shoulder, see the portrait he is painting of the King and Queen; you can even touch him on the arm that supports his palette.
“He paints pictures no longer,” cried little Don Luis the Valencian. “Like a god he creates a world with light and atmosphere, plains and mountains. ”

“ Cortes, also, at the same time wrote to all his friends, inviting them to join the expedition. Many there were who sold all they were possessed of, to buy themselves [Pg 46] arms and a horse; others purchased stores of cassave-bread and salted bacon to provision the ships, and otherwise equipped themselves as well as they could. Our numbers had increased to 300 soldiers when we left Santiago de Cuba: we were even joined by some of the principal personages of Diego Velasquez's household; among the number was Diego de Ordas, his steward. ”

“ Landscape as an expression of art never had attraction for the Spaniards; but Velazquez here shows how great a master he was in this branch. The silvery views of Aranjuez, which at one time passed under his name, are now considered to be the work of his pupil Mazo. After a visit to Naples in 1631, where he worked with his countryman Ribera, and painted a charming portrait of the Infanta Maria, sister of Philip, Velazquez returned early in the year to Madrid. ”

“ One of his latest critics reduces the pictures of Velazquez now in existence to eighty-nine, while acknowledging that some have disappeared from the royal palaces of Spain and cannot be traced. This critic, Señor Don Aureliano de Beruete—a connoisseur, a collector, and a worker in the best interests of art—is perhaps a little too severe. He will not admit to his catalogue a portrait like that of Admiral Adriano Pulido Pareja, which, despite some inferior workmanship, can show considerable claims to be regarded as genuine ”

“ He saw the world around him teeming with life and objects interesting to the painter, and he set himself to render these. His manner is as national as that of Cervantes. He lived and died racy of the soil. The position and reputation of Velazquez were now assured at Seville. There his wife bore him two daughters—all his family so far as is known. The younger died in infancy, while the elder, Francisca, in due time married Bautista del Mazo. a painter, whose large family is that which is represented in the important picture in Vienna which was at one time called the “Family of Velazquez.” ”