Happy birthday to Diego Velázquez, born on this day in 1599. Velázquez ranks among the greatest masters of 17th-century Europe. By 1623, the 24-year-old artist was established as court painter to Philip IV in Madrid. For nearly 40 years, he was primarily occupied with painting innovative portraits of the royal family. In his spare hours, Velázquez turned to subjects that interested him personally, like "The Needlewoman."
Because the painting remains unfinished, the steps in the artist's process are visible. Velázquez began by priming the canvas with a gray-green base. Next, he indicated the main forms of the composition, sketching them in with darker paint. The artist brushed the woman's face with transparent layers of glaze, giving it the effect of flesh seen through diffused light. This is the only area that appears to be finished.
Diego Velázquez, "The Needlewoman," c. 1640/1650, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Collection
"Mary stands on a crescent moon. Enveloped in mauve satin and blue velvet, hands prayerfully joined, she gazes with pensive beneficence down upon a dark pastoral landscape. Twelve twinkling stars circle around her head, and clouds irradiated by golden light billow behind her.
What is striking about this lovely picture painted by Diego Velázquez in 1618-19, when he was just about 20 years old, is Mary's face. Painted with Vermeerish, almost photographic verisimilitude, this pretty, long-haired, big-eyed girl with the pouty lips and small chin looks uncannily modern, like a teenager you could pass on the street. "
Photo: The National Gallery, London
‘The Toilet of Venus’ is the only surviving example of a female nude by Diego Velázquez, who was born on this day in 1599 in Seville:http://bit.ly/1JpJkc9
Happy birthday, Diego Velázquez! His beautiful painting of "An Old Woman Cooking Eggs" will be featured in our upcoming exhibition from the National Galleries of Scotland, which will be on view in the Piano Pavilion starting June 28. #kimbellart #diegovelázquez #scotnatgallery
billow, mauve , verisimilitude
mauve Show phoneticsadjective, noun [U]
(having) a pale purple colourbillow
━━ n., vi. 大波（を立てる）, 大きくうねる（もの）.
verb [I]
to spread over a large area, or (especially of items made of cloth) to become filled with air and appear to be larger:
Smoke billowed (out) from the burning building.
The sheets/shirts hanging on the line billowed in the breeze.
We watched the boats with their billowing sails.
billow
noun [C usually plural]
billows of smoke
ver・i・si・mil・i・tude 
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