Velázquez & Olivares

Velázquez & Olivares: Early Years at Court explores a pivotal moment in Spanish painter Diego Velázquez’s career, when he transitioned from a young, ambitious outsider from Seville to the official court painter for King Philip IV of Spain. This exhibition brings together a selection of works, most by Velázquez, that focus on the artist’s early years at the Spanish royal court in the 1620s.

Velázquez & Olivares: Early Years at Court includes six striking portraits of Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, four by Velázquez. Olivares was the king’s powerful prime minister and an important supporter of the artist. Displayed side by side for the first time, these works reveal Velázquez’s evolving understanding of the representation of power in the 1620s.

Together, these works of art trace the beginning of Velázquez’s remarkable rise.