‘Velazquez’s renewed fame was largely thanks to Stevenson’s influence.’ Michael Kerrigan, TLS.
Rising to the top of Spanish art to become court painter during the Spanish Golden Age, Diego Velazquez led a remarkable life and painted with incredible ability.
Masterpieces such as Las Meninas bring the seventeenth century royal family of King Philip IV to life.
While other works such as The Surrender of Breda capture crucial moments in Spanish history.
But Velazquez wasn’t always quite so well-known as he is today.
Until the nineteenth century, little was known of the artist outside of Spain.
R. A. M. Stevenson’s impressive work was one of the first works that brought him to the attention pf a wider public.
In a thorough study, with beautifully crafted prose, Stevenson surveys all the main pieces of Velazquez’s works, analyses his development over time, and use of colour and technique.
Stevenson places the work of Velazquez within the context of his life, his role in the Spanish court and Spain’s place on the world scene during its Golden Age.
He also uncovers the debts that later artists have to Velazquez, particularly the Impressionists.
Perhaps the greatest praise for this book is by the late travel writer and art historian Michael Jacobs who in Everything is Happening cites Stevenson as a great influence in his love for Velazquez.
Where possible art referenced in the work have been linked to and are visible as high definition images for anyone with an eReader with web browsing capabilities.
R. A. M. Stevenson (1847-1900) was a Scottish art critic, a cousin of the writer Robert Louis Stevenson. He was the leader of a new school of art criticism in England. The aims and methods of 'impressionism' found in him a champion of rare brilliancy. He also published a book on Peter Paul Rubens.
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