Diego Velazquez is perhaps best known as court painter to King Philip IV, and his virtuosity was displayed in his portraits of the royal family and in what is his greatest achievement, Las Meninas. Through his early genre scenes, religious paintings, mythological subjects, and treatment of events in history Velazquez developed a style considered to have prefigured the works of the Impressionists--the lengthening of the brushstrokes, layering of color, and effects of atmosphere and reflected light. In this book, Maurice Sirillaz provides thoughtful biographical and historical text on the importance of Velazquez as the master Spanish painter of his time, and on his pervasive influence well into the 20th century. Diego Velazquez is perhaps best known as court painter to King Philip IV, and his virtuosity was displayed in his portraits of the royal family and in what is his greatest achievement, Las Meninas. Through his early genre scenes, religious paintings, mythological subjects, and treatment of events in history Velazquez developed a style considered to have prefigured the works of the Impressionists--the lengthening of the brushstrokes, layering of color, and effects of atmosphere and reflected light. In this book, Maurice Sirillaz provides thoughtful biographical and historical text on the importance of Velazquez as the master Spanish painter of his time, and on his pervasive influence well into the 20th century.