Seville, the capital of everything new

20 April 2015
Diego Velázquez was born in 1599 in Seville. Open to the international maritime trade, the town thronged with curiosities – food, exotic products and objects from the Americas.

Vue de l’exposition Velázquez 2, scénographie Atelier Maciej Fiszer, © Didier Plowy pour la Rmn-Grand Palais, Paris 2015

It was a hub for all the discoveries and all the ideas circulating between the New World and the Old World. This competitive and culturally diverse environment was conducive to the development of the arts. Indeed, since the Council of Trent, images and the people who created images were more highly esteemed. This was the case with painters and, as a young man, Diego could follow his ambitions and confidently dedicate his life to painting. So in 1611, at the age of 12, he entered the workshop of the painter Francisco Pacheco, whose style was stiff and cautious, but who was an erudite, excellent teacher. In his workshop, artists learned that drawing was just as important as nature studies; they carried out polychrome painting on wooden sculptures and came into contact with Seville’s elite. In 1617, Velázquez completed his apprenticeship and took the painter corporation’s exam. The following year, he married his former teacher’s daughter. At this time, a great deal of debate was raging on the Immaculate Conception. This was the belief that the Virgin Mary was conceived free from original sin. The Catholic Church did not officially establish this dogma until 1854, but since the Middle Ages many people had subscribed to this devotion. In two of his paintings, Velázquez echoed this worship which was at the height of affirmation

following the Pope’s decision to forbid any public criticism of it.

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