How do you paint your own slave? Painter Julie Mehretu explores Velázquez’s answer to this troubling question. Diego Velázquez, Juan de Pareja by The Metropolitan Museum of Art
This puzzling painting about painting is half genre scene, half family portrait. But what’s on the large canvas? Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker
Don’t strike the messenger! Interrupted at his forge, a horrified Vulcan looks ready to hammer Apollo. Diego Velázquez, Vulcan’s Forge by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker
Velázquez lends immediacy and gritty realism to a mythological subject. We are right there, ready to partake. Diego Velázquez, Los Borrachos (The Drunks), or ... by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker
Disorganized and youthful, Dutch troops surrender to the seasoned Spanish army. Count the victors’ spears! Diego Velázquez, The Surrender of Breda by Dr. Jimena Berzal de Dios
Combining earthtones with dramatic lighting, Velázquez meticulously renders a waterseller’s world. Diego Velázquez, The Waterseller of Seville by Olivia Nicole Miller