The life and works of Velázquez, narrated through the dazzling lights and looming shadows of a golden century.
The glow of a splendid sunset extended over the court of Spain. The 1600s, with its impulses of great mystics, its baroque emphasis, the detached irony of its men of letters, is the century of contrasts and marvels: the century of Velázquez (1599-1660), a genius of art and intelligence, interpreter of a society caught between the formal etiquette of the court and the true, bitter taste of reality. The painter works on altarpieces, landscapes, historical scenes and portraits. His art is the inner image of men and women driven by passions, of an intense, direct presence that makes them come alive in our midst, eternally relevant.
The book offers an unusual concentration of information on the artist, with over 300 full-color illustrations.