Essay for Velazquez inspired top.

This assignment is no typical ‘research paper.’ I mean the ones we were assigned in high-school. Where I grudgingly wrote about Emily Bronte’s first steps and how her childhood influenced her literature. I truly learned nothing, merely reworded Wikipedia.

Now at Parsons I see my goal so near and know that everything I learn is shaping me into the fashion designer I will one day become. In this paper I will uncover Diego Rodriquez de Silva y Velazquez, a Spanish Baroque painter, in relation to my life, a young fashion design student.

Blogging, the latest phenomenon, is no longer reserved for the technology savy fashionistas, but a requirement. I am graded on my weekly updates that inform the truly interested world wide web of my opinions. Often times posts overflow with rhetoric as I aspire to resemble Sex and the City icon Carrie Bradshaw in my memoir. Velazquez was very similar to us young bloggers. Though he was well versed in philosophy and various languages he didn’t chose to practice a learned profession. At the age of 11 he apprenticed under Francisco de Herrera, and began with a harsh style imitated from sculpture. Virtually, re-blogging. His early works were known for their realism and satire as he produced many amusing genre scenes.

Two and a half years from now I will leave behind my years of exploration and experimentation and enter the market driven fashion industry. I will no longer chose my muse, but reference photographs taped to the walls. I will no longer chose my color palette, but reference the muted swatches strewn about the design room. I am working in an unidentified active wear company’s design house in Michigan. Though I prefer children’s wear and swore I would never leave New York City this opportunity was not one I could pass up. Velazquez experienced a similar change. He was summoned to Madrid in December 1622 since Rodrigo de Villandrando, Philip IV’s favorite painter, died. In one day Velazquez completed a sketch that pleased both Philip IV and the Count Duke of Olivares who then required Velazquez to move to Madrid. All portraits of Philip IV were to be done by Velazquez and all others would be removed from circulation. With no option to refuse Velazquez relocated his family and changed his style drastically.

I am designing for middle class working women. However, I must avoid power suits and create clothes that transition from day to night. I am confined to designing for this market. When Velazquez began working as a court painter he confined himself to portraits. He, “adopted a fluid manner, all fine shades, in which the form is elusive and melts into an atmosphere of indeterminate grey” (Bazin 59). Because of a bust portrait he painted of the king Velazquez gained admission to the Royal Service in 1623 and was awarded a salary of 20 ducats per year. Unfortunately, this painting is lost. Other portraits of Philip IV remain, as examples of the more delicate tones Velazquez used. Though his painting of the Moors was destroyed in a palace fire, this piece received much recognition. Velazquez won Philip IV’s competition and was named the best painter in Spain.

I have now established myself and a few times a year the company I design for sends me, all expenses paid, to New York City. This trip is more about me gaining inspiration then visiting fabric stores. I attend gallery openings and trendy bars surveying the young crowd like mice in a laboratory. Velazquez took a similar trip to Italy. Little is known about his one and half year hiatus, though we can gain much knowledge based on the work he produced once he returned to Madrid. He began painting the young heir to the throne, Prince Baltazar Carlos. Prince Baltazar on his Pony, exemplifies Velazquez’s now painterly approach. This charming depiction of the infant shows the broad landscape yet the foreshortened horse seems disproportionate. He also painted other members of the royal family and showed much sympathy when painting dwarfs. These paintings give expression to, ‘the profound feeling of loneliness that came naturally to the Spanish soul, for which there is in the world no reality but that of G-d” (Bazin 60).

Though loyalty is not the best quality in the cut-throat fashion industry, where fake smiles make buyers happy and everyone steals designs, I overflow with faithfulness. I am brutally honest and ethical; Velazquez was the same. His original and longstanding patron the Duke of Olivares fell from power. Not fearing what others may think, more specifically King Philip IV, Velazquez stood by his side.

Now that I have established myself as a reliable and talented fashion designer, other artists are interested in collaborating. The same went for Velazquez. Sculptor Juan Martinez Montanes modeled a bronze statue based on an equestrian portrait done by the painter in 1636. Though the painting doesn’t remain, we know that the king was shown wearing his invention a golila, a stiff linen collar that forms right angles at the neck, which was the height of fashion. Today we don’t hold festivals, as Philip IV did, when Michelle Obama sets a trend, however we constantly see styles trickle down. Velazquez followed Philip IV’s every move, and unlike the paparazzi that follow Barack on his smoking breaks, he gained the kings trust and was sent back to Italy to purchase statues for the academy of art in Spain.

Now head designer, my trips to New York change. I am accompanied by my prodigy and visit with my celebrity clientele. I use my company’s American Express to make purchases without asking for permission. On his ‘buying trip’ Velazquez was accompanied by his Moorish slave, Juan de Pareja and received warm welcomes and much praise from public figures, including the Duke of Modena. Surprising many at the Vatican, Pope Innocent X praised the painter and presented him with a medal and golden chain, even though Velazquez had painted the Pope with a pitiless expression. In 1650 Velazquez painted Juan de Pareja. In this painting Velazquez does not just portray the physical characteristics of his soon to be freed slave but the mans proud character. According to information provided by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website, “Velazquez clearly intended to impress his Italian colleagues with his unique artistry. Indeed we are told that the picture ‘gained such universal applause that in the opinion of all the painters of the different nations everything else seemed like painting but this alone like truth.’” The rendering of the lace collar is astonishing. From ten feet away the neckband embodies the qualities of true lace. However, when one views the collar just inches from the painting the individual brushstrokes become obvious. Such works illustrate manera abreviada a modern term for his bolder and sharper style.

Velazquez returned to Spain with his many purchases. He began painting the king’s new wife, Mariana of Austria and thus was appointed the aposentador mayor, which required he look after the royalty’s quarters. Though this responsibility should have theoretically negatively impacted his work, Velazquez produced exceptional works in his style. Las Meinas, an example of European Baroque, leaves the viewer with many questions. The subject may be the eldest daughter of the Queen however the various viewpoints and the use of a mirror make us wonder whether the royal couple, represented by their reflection as spectators, is the subject. Velazquez also chooses to position himself in the composition. He is shown holding a palette, in front of an easel, brush in hand. Three years after the completion of what may just be a typical court painting, Velazquez received knighthood. This title was crucial to his career as it allowed him to disregard the censorship of the Inquisition and release La Venus del espejo. Velazquez paintinged the royal children, some of his best work, in fluid and vibrant colors. In 1660 he was commissioned to do the decoration of the historic marriage of Louis XIV and Maria Theresa. He died of a fever and 8 days after his death his wife was buried next to him.

Velazquez’s talent was not just admired by artists and philosophers of his time. Pablo Picasso, Michel Foucault, and Rachel Feinberg have all referenced his masterpieces.

Works Cited

Brown, Jonathan, Diego Velázquez, and Carmen Garrido. Velázquez: the Technique of Genius. New Haven: Yale UP, 1998. Print. This book discusses the technique Velasquez used in relation to specific pieces of art.

López-Rey, José. Velásquez: Catalogue Raisonné. Köln: B. Taschen, 1996. Print. Though this book is written in French. The images are a wonderful reference.

López-Rey, José. Velázquez, Painter of Painters. [Cologne]: Taschen, 1996. Print. This book is written in both French and English. The large scale images are also a wonderful reference.

Troutman, Philip. Velasquez. London: Spring, 1965. Print. This book offers the story of Velasquez's life. Unlike many other artists he never experienced much pain in life.

Velazquez - The Complete Works. Creative Commons License, 2002. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. . This website offers high-resolution Velasquez images as well as information on the painter."Velázquez (1599-1660) | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | TheMetropolitan Museum of Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Home. Web.14 Oct. 2011. . This is an essay on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website. It discusses Velasquez.