The 15 Artworks of Zacarias Gonzalez Velazquez

Velázquez arrived in Madrid in 1623 and was soon named court painter to Philip IV. Formal portraits served as official images that circulated throughout Europe and the Americas; here, a somber simplicity befitting the pious monarch departs from the opulence of earlier Spanish court portraiture. Afte...

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The broken, flickering outlines that keep the surface and flesh alive in this portrait exemplify Velázquez’s technical brilliance and remarkable control within a tight chromatic range. It probably served as the study for an identical face that looks out from his Surrender of Breda (ca. 1635, Museo d...

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This portrait’s authorship, date, and sitter have all been debated since its arrival at The Met in 1889. In recent years, two dominant theories have emerged: that it represents a Spaniard painted by Velázquez in Italy during his journey of 1649 to 1651, or that it is one of the best works by Velázqu...

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Although Velázquez painted informal portraits of male sitters throughout his career, female likenesses are rare in his oeuvre. This enchanting image is the artist's only portrait of a child who was not a member of the royal family. The directness and immediacy of the likeness are the result of chrom...

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Originally bust-length, this painting was subsequently cut down. Velázquez’s likeness of María Teresa wearing a wig with butterfly ribbons served as a model for his assistants to copy as they met the high demand for official portraits of the young princess. The daughter of King Philip IV, María Tere...

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