Deigo de Velazquez artwork and Caravaggio

Diego de Velazquez was the court painter who was appointed by King Phillip IV in 1623. Many of the works of Velazquez were greatly influenced by the works of Caravaggio. Caravaggio (1571 – 1610) was a baroque painter of Italy and was among the best in naturalistic painting during the early 17^th century. Most of his models for his work were from the lower classes of society but later his religious compositions greatly appealed to the masses not only for their simplicity but for its genuine portrayal of piety and realism.

Caravaggio was quite famous for his dramatic use of light and dark effects which was incorporated into many of his paintings and this is one of the factors that greatly influenced his contemporaries including Diego de Velazquez. Some of Caravaggio’s religious paintings include the Madonna in various forms, the Sacrifice of Isaac and many other works. Having been influenced by Caravaggio to a great extent, Velazquez too had created many religious art works using the same light and dark shade technique of Caravaggio into his work. Some of his outstanding religious works were Las Meninas (Maid of Honor) Joseph’s Bloody Coat Brought to Jacob (1630) and many others.