DESTINACIJA / DESTINATION
SEVILLE Velázquez -
portrait of a city
T owards the end of a summer’s day, with the sun slowly reced- ing from the white façades of Seville, the shadows length- en, the squares grow louder, and the tables fill with people who seem in no hurry to get anywhere. As you trav- erse the historic core of the city, it’s hard to escape the impression that the scene has already been set. Just a few streets away, near the square and the church of San Pedro, is Calle Pa- dre Luis María Llop – a street with a name that seems longer than the street itself. Its bright facades, high windows and wrought iron balconies give no suggestion that you should stop here. And then your eye is caught by a small stone slab. This almost imperceptible plaque reveals that it was here, at number four, that Diego Velázquez was born in 1599. That same street sud- denly starts to look different. It is enough to remove a few details of the contempo- rary scene and imagine it four centuries ago. This building that dates back to the 16th century represents one of the old- est preserved examples of traditional Se- villian architecture. The house was long closed to the public and served various purposes (even as a fashion studio), but it was recently taken over by a new founda- tion that aims to transform it into a mu- seum dedicated to the artist’s life. Due to extensive restoration works and museum exhibition preparation, the house is cur- rently closed to visitors. Goya’s art was inspired by the life of Madrid, El Greco’s by the mysticism of Toledo, Picasso’s carries traces of his native Malaga, while Dali was stirred by the unusual landscapes of Catalonia. Velázquez found inspiration in the people, everyday scenes and life on the streets of his native Seville
The Seville of the early 17 th century was one of Spain’s biggest and liveliest cit- ies, where merchants, craftsmen, priests, artists and wealthy families lived side by side. Church bells determined the rhythm of the day, children ran through narrow cobbled streets, water sellers called out to passersby, while the yards and squares were decorated with bitter orange trees. It was among these people and scenes that Velázquez learned to observe the world. The Seville of his childhood was one of Spain’s richest and most exciting cities. As the main port for trade with America, it attracted merchants from all over Eu- rope, meaning that different languages, customs and ideas from different regions mingled on its streets. Spain was going through its Golden Age, and Seville was one of the places where that splendour was perhaps most visible. Velázquez grew up in the city when it was at the peak of its commercial magnifi- cence, at the very moment when Renais- sance Seville was beginning to take on a more luxurious, baroque face. But existing behind that opulence was a much rougher daily life. Next to noble houses stood hov- els, while the streets were noisy and often untidy. It was from this less polished side of the city that Velázquez would find some of his first heroes – in the merchants, serv- ants and ordinary people he saw on the streets of Seville. It was at the age of 11 that he began studying painting in the workshop of Fran- cisco Pacheco, then one of Seville’s most respected artistic authorities. Over the course of the next six years, he learned his trade, but also got acquainted with the city’s broader intellectual circles. He left Seville in 1623 and moved to Madrid, where a portrait of the young King Philip IV opened the doors of the royal court and earned him the position of official court painter. He met Rubens, travelled to Ita-
ly twice, and created his most important works over the following decades. After spending more than three decades at court, Velázquez painted a scene that would puz- zle art historians for centuries. The Maids of Honour (Las Meninas) was much more than a family portrait. To honour this master of the baroque, a bronze sculpture by famous local sculp- tor Antonio Susillo was erected in 1892 and today stands proudly on Seville’s Pla- za del Duque de la Victoria. The statue shows a life-sized Velázquez, imagined with a painting palette and a brush in his hands. His pose and appearance are directly inspired by the artist’s self-por- trait in the masterpiece Las Meninas. The statue is mounted on a high stone ped- estal and visiting it is a must for all art lovers travelling to Seville. However, the likeness and works of this famous painter are also woven into other symbols of the city. A statue of him adorns the famous Palace of San Telmo. Specifical- ly, located on the building’s north façade is a gallery of twelve sculptures represent- ing the most important historical figures of Seville, the so-called Ilustres Sevillanos, all of which are works of the sculptor Susil- lo. Apart from that, if you walk through the magnificent Spanish Square, you’ll no- tice an embossed ceramic medallion with Velázquez’s face placed above the distinc- tive majolica tile alcoves. Four centuries after his life, you no longer have to seek Velázquez only on that small stone plaque in Calle Padre Luis María Llop. His works can today be found in ma- jor museums from Florence and London to Madrid and New York. His tracks are much more modest in Seville: the house where he was born and the city where he grew up. But as you walk through its old streets and squares, passing façades, balconies and or- ange trees, the city that Velázquez saw four centuries ago no longer seems so distant.
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