This is a portrait of Diego Velázquez, from his arrival at the court of King Philip IV of Spain, to his death 38 years and scores of paintings later. It is a portrait of a relationship that is not quite a friendship, between an artist and his subject. It is a portrait of a ruler, always on duty, and increasingly burdened by a life of public expectation and repeated private grief. And it is a portrait of a court collapsing under the weight of its own excess.
Unfolding through series of masterly set-pieces and glancing sketches, this is a novel of brilliance, imagination and sheer style -- about what is shown and what is seen, about art and life.
- ISBN10 1783783907
- ISBN13 9781783783908
- Publish Date 5 April 2018
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 30 April 2024
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Granta Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 336
- Language English