Though he was eventually beheaded, this portrait encapsulates the king's notion of independent authority, and his belief in the divine right of kings.
A-Level: Baroque portraits
How do you paint your own slave? Painter Julie Mehretu explores Velázquez’s answer to this troubling question.
Diego Velázquez, Juan de Pareja
Van Dyck makes painting look easy! His king is just as self-assured—despite having dismounted, he exudes strength.
Anthony van Dyck, Charles I at the ...
This puzzling painting about painting is half genre scene, half family portrait. But what’s on the large canvas?
Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas
In Rubens’s hands, leaving a ship becomes a triumphal event—complete with a trumpeting angel.
Peter Paul Rubens, Arrival (or Disembarkation) of ...
The Baroque doesn’t have to be loud, as this intimate and quiet sculpture demonstrates so well.
Pierre Le Gros the Younger, Stanislas Kostka ...
Royal portraitists negotiated between historical accuracy and ideal form. Here, Rigaud flatters the aging king.
Hyacinthe Rigaud, Louis XIV
Be still, my heart! A portrait of Marie attracts the king’s gaze, yet our eyes zig-zag around this busy canvas.
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