Manet called him "the greatest of all painters." His masterpiece Las Meninas, which depicts him at his bread-and-butter work, PR for the Spanish royal family, while banishing the majesties to a small mirror in the background of the painting, has engaged brilliant minds like José Ortega y Gasset and Michel Foucault and inspired Picasso so much that he painted 44 variations of it. Whether Monet or Renoir, Corot or Courbet, Degas or Dalí and Francis Bacon, many stars of art history have paid their respects to Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599–1660), who elevated painting to an intellectual endeavor and portrayed beggars and fools with the same dedication and meticulousness as his courtly patrons.

"The magnificent volume conveys an almost physical impression of the portrayed subjects, the play of light and shadow on their skin, the shine of the silk garments, and the texture of the precious embroidery. A visual delight that makes it clear why Velázquez’s painting has influenced generations of artists," judged NDR Kultur about our originally XXL-format exhibition of the Spanish painter’s work. This new edition in a smaller format contains all the features of the original edition, excellent reproductions, enlarged details, new photographs of recently restored paintings, and the insightful commentary of art historian José López del Rey.