Art Lovers discussion

This thread will allow us to discuss the numerous paintings of Velazquez that have survived to our time. Feel free to post his paintings and add your perspective to the discussion. This thread is likely to be filled with a large number of portraits. Your impressions of these works and any interesting information related to the art are valuable aspects of the discussion.

Recently (2009) a portrait was restored and attributed to Velázquez. It is thought to actually be a self-portrait of the artist.


Portrait of a Man by Velázquez

The Metropolitan Museum of Art restored the portrait and included it in a major exhibit. The following program discusses the portrait and the restoration process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Tf3...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/art...

Personally I really enjoy the portrait. The angle of the face and the shadows playing in the left portion of the painting makes it powerful and memorable. The man comes across as serious and determined yet with a softness reflected in his eyes. What do you see in the portrait? Do you agree with the conclusion that it is an actual portrait of Velázquez himself?

I began this book yesterday but didn't have a whole lot of time to read. I did finish the first chapter A Discovery however.
This book is a discovery! I wasn't familiar with it until Haaze mentioned a discussion about it.

In the first chapter, the narrator saw the painting Las Meninas 1656. The description of this painting is incredible. The point of view delineated by the viewer was much more comprehensive than I ever thought about upon first studying it in my humanities class.

I would like to quote some viewpoints but won't 'spoil' the first chapter for those who haven't read it yet. These are the parts that fascinated me most and tempted me to continually look at the painting (shown in Plate A).

(view spoiler)["The moment you set eyes on [the people in the picture], you know that these beauful children will die, that they are already dead and gone, and yet they live in the here and now of this moment..."
"You are here, you have appeared: that is the split-second revelation in their eyes, all these people looking back at you from their side of the room" Velazquez creates "the illusion that the people you see are equally aware of your presence, that their scene is fulfilled by you." (hide spoiler)]

I love how the author describes a 'new kind of art' invented by Velazquez. It is a view I would never think of because of course, we have so much more technology in our day, the idea of going to a theater is different than that of viewing a painting. The author explains: (view spoiler)[ "Velazquez invents a new kind of art: the painting as living theater, a performance that extends out into our world and gives a part to each and every one of us, embracing every single viewer." (hide spoiler)]

The mirror image of the king and queen (which I hadn't even noticed) is explained in terms of what that could mean to the viewer of the whole painting itself.
Referring to the king and queen (view spoiler)[ "we stand where the mirror implies...the picture turns the world upside down, so that citizens may take the place of kings and kings may be tiny compared to children" (hide spoiler)]

(For some reason it would let me post my whole comment in one message)

continued...

What a thought!

The painting itself is described as if (view spoiler)[...this painting accepts as many interpretations as there are viewers..." (hide spoiler)]And I like that because my own interpretation was drastically different than that described in the book.

I am looking forward to more time for further reading.

Haaze wrote: "The man comes across as serious and determined yet with a softness reflected in his eyes. What do you see in the portrait? Do you agree with the conclusion that it is an actual portrait of Velázquez himself? "

Your comments and questions had me more diligently study the newly restored portrait by Velazquez. I agree that the man comes across as serious and determined, yet I don't see a softness reflected in his eyes. Instead, I see defiance. The youthful look of the man in the painting shown by the smooth skin and a bit of rosy cheeks, seems like a teenage defiance of what could be many things left to the viewer to interpret. He could be defying or resenting having the painting made at all (though this isn't really reasonable since it is said to be a 'self-portrait'), or he could be defying life itself.

I like the delicate way Velazquez paints the soft curls in his hair. They seem so real, as if I could reach out and touch their softness. Maybe the shadows you talked about, Haaze, could attribute to that.

That is my impression anyway.

Heather wrote: "Your comments and questions had me more diligently study the newly restored portrait by Velazquez. I agree that the man comes across as serious and determined, yet I don't see a softness reflected in his eyes. Instead, I see defiance. The youthful look of the man in the painting shown by the smooth skin and a bit of rosy cheeks, seems like a teenage defiance of what could be many things left to the viewer to interpret. He could be defying or resenting having the painting made at all (though this isn't really reasonable since it is said to be a 'self-portrait'), or he could be defying life itself.

I like the delicate way Velazquez paints the soft curls in his hair. They seem so real, as if I could reach out and touch their softness. Maybe the shadows you talked about, Haaze, could attribute to that.

That is my impression anyway."

Interesting reflections Heather. I can see your point of view. However, looking at it further at the same time I sense a sadness - "I'm tired of all of this" aspect. I'm probably completely wrong and suspect that you have hit on the artist's intent. After all he is young and upcoming so it would make much more sense that he would carry defiance and a bit of narcissism in a self portrait.

I don't have the book yet, but I did skim the first chapter on Amazon. I remember discussing "Las Meninas" in an art history class. Velazquez painted himself with a brush and palette behind the girls. We had to laugh because the king and queen, shown in the mirror, are so small. But Velazquez himself is very large. He certainly is not shy!

It's a gorgeous painting. Every time I look at it, I see something new.

It is indeed mesmerizing which is kind of unusual for a portrait...

La Infanta Margarita en azul (1659)

I'm jumping into this discussion late. So many things going on in my offline life.

I am very much impressed with Las Meninas and I want to know more about Velazquez. I will add in my thoughts later as I find it hard to form anything coherent as of now. :D

I've also ordered the ebook, but I can't squeeze reading it into my schedule yet. Hopefully I can catch up with you guys.

Wonderful Ker! Jump in at any point. We are going slow anyways (holidays and all) and will be off on many, many tangents... :) I think art simply is one of those topics that generates all kinds of thoughts!

Ker Metanoia wrote: "I'm jumping into this discussion late. So many things going on in my offline life.

I am very much impressed with Las Meninas and I want to know more about Velazquez. I will add in my thoughts late..."

Wonderful! I will look forward to your thoughts as you are able to contribute. I know other more important things in life can intrude on reading time, but I'm glad you have an interest in Velazquez!

I'm not sure in which chapter to post this but I thought it was a very interesting little clip on observations of Las Meninas.
Check it out!

https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-is-thi...