The sun., 1884-04-27

from his house. After ahard but Aot untfuit-
ful novttiats vndsf THE msssse. vsiasauss
entered the soAoei oi Yrassisco Pacheco. .
painter Of considerable skiil and . learned
writer upon art who. little later. was ap-
pointed by the Holy InQuisition ofY,clai inspoc-
tor Of tho moral tendency Of pictures. Pacheco
had suf1clent insight to divine the capabilities
OF his now pupil. and records the fact that
veiazluez. while still boy. instinctively turned
away from Aoademioai traditions to learn from
nature. 'lIo kept" says Pacheoo. an appren.
tice. q young peasant. who served him for =
model In innumerable actions and posturos.
and tho youthful artist would kcep the lad now
crying and now laughing TIL he had conquered
every difficulty In expression" Like RibAlta.
Va azaucz fell In love with his teachers daugh-
| ter. but unlike him WAS not forced tn go to
Italy to win her. Al tho ago OF 10 ho married
| the daughter Of Francisco Pacheco. who has
loft some quaint reflections on tho match. :" To
Diego do Silva vnlazauez." ho writes. "after
fve ycars of education and instruction. gave
my daughter In marriage. moved ,hcreto by his
probity. his purity. and his good parts. rs vol
rs by tho hopes excited by his great natural
Eonius. 1t Is u greater honor to bD his master
| than his fnthcr.i law. ! hold IT," he adds.
| no shame for a master to DO Cxcclrd by his
disciple Leonardo da Vnci lost nothing by
| having Raphael for n disciple. nor Gorgione
by having Ttinn." II is not u little surprising
| that tho son -in-law OF tho inspector OF tho In
| quisitinn which imposed II ilno of 800 ducnts.
| besides accommodation and oxile. uron tho
| painter OF an immodest picture. must bo crod-
itcd with one OF tho very fow representations
Of tho undraped form produced IN Spain. Mr..
| Curtis tolls US that thu husband OF Francesca
| Iachoco painted two pictures OF this character.
ono "Vcnus nnh Adonis." which was de-
stroyel by nre IN 1884. and the other n Psyche
and Cupid" probably identical with tho so
called Venus and Cupid. which was purchased
by an English gentleman. Mr.. Morrit on tho
recommendation OF Sir Joshua Roynods.
In 1929 veaz1uoz mado first and brief visit
| to Madrid. and In tho following spring he left
| Seville to reside permanently at tho capital. the
Count Duke Oivarcs. thon and for twenty
years aftorward tho all-powerful Prime Minis
| tor. having dscornod his talent. and supplied
| him with nifty ducats to defray the expenses
| OF tho journey. II is an Interesting coincidence
that Velaz1uoz reached Madrid about the same
time as tho Prince OF Wales aftorward Charles
l.. who had come with Viiiers to pay his court
| to the Infantn. We know on the authority OF
| Pacheco. that VolnzQuea mado portrait Of
Charles I. for which no was paid one hundred
crowns. a price much larger than Philip ~.
gave for the famous picture OF Bacchus Ford
Sterling. Head. and other critics. however. deny
that this portrait can be identified with the pic
| ture belonging to Mr.. Snare. which was ut one
timc made the subject OF much legal contro-
versy. That other pictures by Velazqucs
| were afterwnrd sent to England to Charles
seems to DO nttested BY good evidence. Among
these should certainly be classed the portrait
OF Don Baltasar Carlos. now In Buckingham
Palace. and probably the portraits OF Philip
". and Isabel Of Bourbon In the gallery at
Hampton Court.
In his first year at the court the emoluments
| md hNp .vhinh 20, ha haor
Velazquez throughout his life began. and 1t
may bo we'll to enumerate the proofs that. In
| this instance. SURPRISING merit WAS worthly
| rewarded. Hardly had veaz1uez finished tho
| equestrian portrait OF Philip Nv. than he was
| received into the service OF the King with
salary OF twenty ducats pcr month. besides
| medical attendance. lodging. and payment for
any pictures he might paint. and he was given
three hundred ducats for the purpose OF bring
| Ing his family to Madrid. Three years after
ward a second pension OF three hundred ducats
was bestowed'on him. together with apart
ments in the Treasury buildings representing
| q yenrly rental OF two hundred ducats; the value
OF this coin at that time seems to have been fifty
| five cents. though Its purchasing power was OF
| course. far greater. In 1927. having beaten
Carducho. Nardi. and Caxes in q trial OF skill.
the subject Of the competitive pictures being tho
Expulsion OF the Morescos "velazauez gained
tho prize. namely. tho post Of Uger do Camera
or usher to the royal chamber. to which was
attached salary OF some four hundred ducats
| besides m allowance OF ninety ducats for dress.
| In lGi0. tho year after tho production Of tho
| "Crucilxion." now at Madrid and OF the IA
nous portrait OF the Admiral Parcja. he was
given IN additional pension OF five hundred
ducnts. which. in 1913. tho year after tho dato
| OF the famous picture Las Lanzas." was In
| creased to seven hundred Four years later
| on his return from his second visit to Italy. he
was appointed Aposentndor dol Roy. or royal
| Quartermaster. nm offlco which involved gem
eral oversight Of all public festivals and n
measure OF jurisdiction within the palace. For
the discharge OF these duties he received an
additional annual stipend Of three thousand
ducats. and in the same year he assumed tho
supcrintcndence OF public works and was
made Alguazil do la Corte tbaiifr) and Escri-
vano notary. offices worth respectively four
thousand and six thousand ducats. Besides
| the above sources OF income. he was contin-
| ually In receipt OF presents from the King. from
Olivares. and from great mobiles and prelatcs in
Spain and Italy. Finally in 1862 tho year
before his denth he was made Knight OF
Santiago. an order membership In which
was accounted by princes chief among Cas-
lillian honors. The world has lost much
by the advancement OF the courtier. for from tho
|
dor Fcla%quez spent comparatively little time
at the easel. and his premature death Mt the age
OF 6l was due to fover contracted at tho Isln
dc los Faisans. where. in his official capacity
he superintendent the preparations for the mar
rage Of the IEiaLta Maria Theresa with Louis
| XIV.
We have dwelt nt some length on this sldo OF
tho painters ife because 1t was his unusually
prolonged and triumphant career at court that
explains his profound knowledge OF the world
and his marvellous insight into character. We
should add that though Ve!asqucz had his share
OF enviers and enemies. no man deserved them
less. 1t was he who welcomed Murlo to Madrid
and assisted him to obtain the instruction and
the inspiration which were soon to be turned to
such wonderful account: 1t was he who in
| troduced Alonzo Cano 10 Olivares and 1t was
through his influence that one Of his most
formidable rivals. Zurbaran. was summoned
from Seville to decorate the royal palaces.
| Mr. Curtis has proupod the landsca ma Nv