Rubens' Influence on Diego Velázquez

In September of 1628, at the height of his powers, the great Flemish Baroque master, Peter Paul Rubens came to the court at Madrid on a diplomatic mission that lasted 9 months. During Rubens’ stay in Madrid he had little association with other artists. The young artist, Diego Velázquez was an exception. He was one of the few painters Rubens did associate with and had a high opinion of. Velázquez frequently visited Rubens at work and was appointed by the king to guide Rubens among the rich treasures of Spain.

Though Rubens certainly influenced Velázquez who sought to follow the example of the master painter-courtier he did not have a significant impact on the style of the young painter. Their many conversations persuaded Velázquez to expand his range of themes and to visit the Venetian art collections in Italy that Rubens so admired. Velázquez left Spain in August of 1629 and spent nearly 2 years in Italy studying the art of the Renaissance as well as contemporary painting. Many of the works that he completed during his time in Italy show an incorporation of these styles into his paintings.

One of Velázquez’s final paintings, Las Meninas, shows the royal family in a large room in the palace in Madrid. On the back wall of the room are hung several paintings including a large mythological painting by Rubens.