Francisco de Zurbaran Saint Serapion 1628 Zurbaran was also influenced by Caravaggio and the Caravaggistic style. Saint Serapion, who participated in the Third Crusade of 1196, was martyred while preaching the Gospel to Muslims. According to one account of his martyrdom, the monk was tied to a tree, tortured, and decapitated. In this work, Zurbaran conveys the fierce devotion of Catholic Spain In the painting, two tree branches are barely visible in the background. The small note on the right identifies him for the viewers. Spanish Baroque

Diego Velazquez Water Carrier of Seville, Wellington Museum, London Created when he was only twenty years old, this masterpiece impressively displays the command that Velazquez had for his craft. He rendered he figures with clarity and dignity, and his careful depiction of the water jugs in the foreground, complete with droplets of water, adds to the scene’s credibility. The contrast of darks and lights, along with the plebeian nature of the figures, reveal the influence of Caravaggio, whose work Velazquez had studied. The artist present this genre scene (one from everyday life) with such care and conviction it seems to convey a deeper significance. Spanish Baroque

Diego Velazquez Water Carrier of Seville, (details) Created when he was only twenty years old, this masterpiece impressively displays the command that Velazquez had for his craft. He rendered he figures with clarity and dignity, and his careful depiction of the water jugs in the foreground, complete with droplets of water, adds to the scene’s credibility. The contrast of darks and lights, along with the plebeian nature of the figures, reveal the influence of Caravaggio, whose work Velazquez had studied. The artist present this genre scene (one from everyday life) with such care and conviction it seems to convey a deeper significance. Spanish Baroque

Diego Velazquez King Phillip IV of Spain (Fraga Philip), Also known as the Fraga Philip, because it was painted in the town of Fraga in Aragon. Such a designation differentiates the many royal portraits from one another. Philip IV appears as a military leader, arrayed in red and sliver campaign dress. Because the king was not a commanding presence and because he had inherited the large Hapsburg jaw (the result of dynastic inbreeding), Velazquez had to find creative ways to “ennoble” the monarch. He succeeded by focusing attention on the dazzling military regalia while not idealizing Philips appearance. Spanish Baroque

Diego Velazquez King Phillip IV of Spain, 1656.

Carlos II (King Philip’s inbred son Charles, with a serious case of the Hapsburg Jaw)

Diego Velazquez Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor) 1656 Velazquez painted his greatest masterpiece, Las Meninas, after he returned to Spain. In it, Velazquez showed his mastery of both form and content. The painter repreented himself in his studio standing before a large canvas, on which he may be painting this very picture or, perhaps, the portraits of King Philip IV and Queen Mariana, whose reflections appear in the mirror on the far wall. The young Infanta (princess) Margarita appears in the foreground with her two maids-in-waiting, her favorite dwarfs, and a large dog. Velazquez extended the pictorial depth of his composition in both directions. The open doorway and its ascending staircase lead the eye beyond the artist’s studio, and the mirror device and the outward glances of several of the figures incorporate the viewer’s space into the picture as well. Spanish Baroque

Diego Velazquez detail of the artists, Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor) 1656 Spanish Baroque

Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas, 1656.

Pablo Picasso, Las Meninas, 1957.

TOP 10 Greatest Paintings of all time… According to art experts at Illustrated London News, 1985.

Rembrandt van Rijn Return of the Prodigal Son

Pablo Picasso, Guernica,

Matthias Grunewald, Isenheim Altarpiece,

Giotto, The Lamentation,

El Greco Burial of Count Orgaz

Piero Della Francesca Resurrection

Botticelli, La Primavera,

Giorgione The Tempest

Jan Vermeer, View of Delft, c

Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas,

Flemish Baroque Peter Paul Rubens Anthony Van Dyck Jan Brueghel

Peter Paul Rubens Self-Portrait, c1639.

Peter Paul Rubens, Raising of the Cross,

Peter Paul Rubens, Descent From the Cross,

Peter Paul Rubens. St. Sebastian. c.1618, Oil on canvas. Andrea Mantegna, St. Sebastian. c.1480.

Peter Paul Rubens, The Judgment of Paris, c1636.

Peter Paul Rubens, Marie Arrives At Marseilles,

Peter Paul Rubens, Henry IV Receiving the Portrait of Marie d’Medici,

Peter Paul Rubens, Portrait of Marie d’Medici, 1622.

Anthony Van Dyck, Self-Portrait with Sunflower.

Anthony Van Dyck, Charles I at the Hunt, 1635.