From his earliest works Diego Velßzquez showed a particular fondness for scenes from the life of the
common people, as can be seen in his portrait of \i Madre Heronima de la Fuente\i0 painted in 1620. The great realism of the description, combined with a sculptural treatment of the figures and strong contrasts of light and shade, denote the influence o
f the Italian painter Caravaggio on the work of the young Velßzquez. In 1623 he moved from his native Andalusia to Madrid, where he was given the prestigious commission of painting King Philip IV of Spain. Within a short space of time he became the most
highly esteemed painter at court, a status that was confirmed by the posts which he held subsequently. In 1652 he was appointed \i Apodentador Mayor\i0 , one of the highest positions in the court, which gave him the right to live in an annex of the Royal
Palace. Velßzquez 's two trips to Italy in 1629 and 1649 had an important influence on his artistic development. During his stay in Rome on his first visit in 1629, the Spanish artist painted a number of important works, including the \i Forge of Vulcan
\i0 in which he came up with an original interpretation of Caravaggio's ideas that he had encountered in Italy. In Naples in 1630, Velßzquez attracted attention and his influence is detected in the work of several artists, among them Jusepe de Ribera. O
n his second visit to Italy, twenty years later, Velßzquez found an important source of inspiration in the Venetian paintings of the sixteenth century. An example of this is apparent in the chromatic freedom that characterizes the famous \i Venus at her
Toilette\i0 painted shortly before 1650. After his definitive return to Madrid, the mature phase of VelßzquezÆs career is documented by a number of great works, including a series of royal portraits and famous pictures like \i Las Me±inas\i0 , or \i The
Maids of Honor\i0 , and \i Las Hilanderas \i0 (\i The Spinners\i0 ). More clearly than any of his other works, these paintings reveal VelßzquezÆs great ability to present reality from a disenchanted point of view, making no concession to the pleasing an
d the picturesque qualities typical of genre painting, yet refraining from taking this realism to extremes. In fact his naturalism is expressed through a great mastery of color with a sensitive use of light and tonality that makes Velßzquez one of the mo
st modern and revolutionary of the great figures of European painting.
