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When studying Art history we come across many beautiful styles. Mannerism and the Baroque style are two that are filled with incredibly strong use of light. The careful handling of brush stroke to create the sense of light and reflection is one task that is not simple. Among the painters of these two eras that have utilized and honed this skill, there are two which stand out as the leaders in their home countries. Agnolo Bronzino (1503-1572) was a brilliant Italian painter of the High mannerist style. Agnolo was court painter to Medici and created a large numbers of portraits and religious works. Studying under Jacopo Pontormo, Agnolo developed a keen eye for light and a fluid hand for color. Almost a century after Agnolo Bronzino’s birth Spain was welcoming the arrival of Diego Velazquez (1599-1660). Velazquez was a student of Francisco Pacheco, who in a matter of time came to be his father-in-law. After Velazquez’s marriage at the age of 19, he moved to Madrid. There he obtained a position as court painter and worked on religious pieces, landscapes and portraits of the royal family of Phillip IV. Diego was a master realist that seemed to breath life into his subjects with few strokes of his brush.



One of Velazquez’s works that show his subtle yet beautiful use of light and darks is the informal painting of his assistant Juan de Parreja. This work is noted as a “truthful” painting and one that has such a masterful touch that the sitter Juan de Parreja seems to breathe.

On examination of this work I question: Why would Velazquez do such a beautiful painting of his assistant? Needless to say Juan de Parreja, the sitter, appears to be of African American descent. Search as you may but portraits of this caliber with African American sitters are few. And the fact that this was an informal painting means Velazquez probably didn’t charge Parreja, but if he did as an assistant it would be hard to believe...