Diego Velázquez

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599 – 1660) was a Spanish painter of the Baroque period who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an important portrat artist. In addition to numerous scenes of historical and cultural significance, he painted many portraits of the Spanish Royal Family and of other important European personalities. His masterpiece is Las Meninas (1656). From the first quarter of the nineteenth century, Velázquez's art was taken as a model by the realist and impressionist painters, in particular Édouard Manet.