Spain was the dominant power in Europe for much of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
1600 - 1700
videos + essays
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Diego Velázquez, Portrait of Sebastián de Morra
The compelling immediacy of Sebastián de Morra’s gaze has long struck viewers as noteworthy.
Juan de Pareja, The Calling of Saint Matthew
An extraordinary statement of freedom, Pareja includes his self-portrait in this famous biblical narrative.
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables
The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables is the most famous painting by the most acclaimed Spanish painter of the latter half of the seventeenth century
Juan Martínez Montañés, St. John the Baptist
Seen from across the Spanish Court at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, St. John looks uncannily alive!
The Abduction of Helen Tapestry
An ancient Greek story on a tapestry made in China, for export back to Portugal.
A Still Life of Global Dimensions: Antonio de Pereda’s Still Life with Ebony Chest
In this still life, objects and customs from around the world converge around one delicious food: chocolate.
Jerónimo de Balbás, Altar of the Kings (Altar de los Reyes)
This multimedia architectural altarpiece took two decades to complete, and required teams of workers in many media.
Juan Martínez Montañés and Francisco Pacheco, Christ of Clemency
The sculptor Martínez Montañés was the “God of Wood,” but it’s the painter Pacheco who brought this work to life.
Diego Velázquez, Juan de Pareja
How do you paint your own slave? Painter Julie Mehretu explores Velázquez’s answer to this troubling question.
Jusepe de Ribera, The Martyrdom of Saint Philip
Ribera depicts the moment before St. Philip’s death, yet the martyr’s body distorts and collapses before our eyes.
Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas
This puzzling painting about painting is half genre scene, half family portrait. But what’s on the large canvas?
