Lives of Velázquez

Velazquez was one of the most famous, and important, painters in 1600s Spain. As he worked for the monarchs, his art has survived in museums in Europe. But that does not take away from the beauty, majesty, and realism he put into his work. Like many people who lived during this time and after, we do not know much about the man and it is hard to make accurate biographies, even with the help of biographies that were written by the people who knew him since they embellished accomplishments and hid embarrassments from the public eye and to make sure his legacy was not sullied. These biographies are important eyewitness accounts still important for students to know and that is why this little book is so important as it brings two short biographies of Velazquez into English for the first time, making them accessible to more people. While the writing style might seem strange to our modern way of writing they were contemporaries and knew Velazquez in different stages of his life. The most important part is that they are translated into English. Before, they were only accessible if you knew Spanish and could access the relevant archive.