Diego Velázquez

Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) was a Spanish painter from Seville and the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. After his early bodegones, kitchen scenes with still lifes, he became court painter to Philip IV in Madrid in 1623, a post he held for life. He portrayed the royal family, courtiers and court jesters, and travelled twice to Italy, where he painted Pope Innocent X. Las Meninas (1656) and The Spinners are counted among the high points of painting. Most of his work is in the Prado.