Why it matters
Velázquez painted his enslaved assistant Juan de Pareja, himself a notable painter, in Rome in 1650. Shown at the Pantheon, it was applauded by painters from many countries, who said the other pictures were art, but this one alone was 'truth'.
Did you know?
- It was a warm-up for his portrait of Pope Innocent X.
- It is the earliest known portrait of a Spanish man of Moorish descent.
- It was the first painting to sell for more than £1,000,000.
- The Met bought it in 1970.
Based on the Wikipedia article Portrait of Juan de Pareja (CC BY-SA 4.0).
