From the age of 11 to 16 Velazquez was apprenticed to Mannerist painter, Francisco Pacheco, where he learned much about Flemish and Italian realism. The few years following his apprenticeship, his art seemed to fall into three categories: bodegon, portraits, and religious scenes. His early works show realism that was influenced by Caravaggio with his use of sharp contrasts of light and dark and his use of heavy impasto. Velazquez learned from studying nature and showed a strong pull towards the naturalist style of painting. One of his early bodegones, the Water Seller of Seville, shows brilliant use of light and shadow and shows off his observant eye and realistic use of naturalism.
Velazquez travelled to Madrid where he painted a portrait of King Philip IV. This portrait resulted in the King becoming Velazquez’s patron and Velazquez serving as the King’s official court painter. As court painter he had access to the royal collections of art, which included works by the master, Titan. Titan’s influence on Velazquez’s style is evident. His portraits from this time period portray figures in which the face and hands are accentuated and the dark figures are prominent against a neutral background.
Velazquez spent much of his time as court painter painting portraits of court nobles. Peter Paul Rubens visited Madrid and Velazquez was appointed to be his guide. Rubens may not have greatly influenced Velazquez’s style, however, he did pique his interest in Venetian paintings and encouraged him to expand his themes. Following Rubens visit Velazquez did take two trips to Italy in order to purchase works for the king’s collections. His style developed even further as he spent time studying Italian art. One of the paintings that he created during his trip, Joseph and His Brothers, shows the sculptural styles of Michelangelo as well as the light and shadow techniques of many of the Italian masters. During his second trip to Italy, Velazquez painted a portrait of Pope Innocent X which won him much acclaim in Italy. He painted with eloquent technique and nearly invisible brushstrokes beyond that seen in any works of Titan.
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It seems that Velazquez did not prepare sketches before putting paint to canvas. Instead he let the picture form on the canvas as he worked. We can see changes made during painting, or which were made at a later time, in slight changes to hand, and arm positions. As Velazquez’s techniques grew his brushstrokes became more impressionistic and he simplified the compositions by toning down the use of chiaroscuro.
Some of Velazquez’s most famous works are The Surrender of Breda, The Maids of Honor, Pope Innocent X, and Infanta Maria Thereasa.