Portrait of a young man, ca. When the great Velázquez was painting his masterpieces at the Spanish court in the seventeenth century, his colors were expertly mixed and his canvases carefully prepared by his slave, Juan de Pareja. The unnamed artist in figure 6 may have been a skilled painter, but not to the point of curating his own image: he wears a metal collar and is dressed in clothing a century out of date. Obra de Diego Velázquez, 1650. Self-portrait, ca. Black Africans and Europeans had a steady presence in southern countries like Spain and Italy from the medieval period, most but not all of which was driven by the slave trade (Kaufmann 4, Lowe 13). Retrato de don Adrián Pulido Pareja, ca. Why would an enslaved assistant be wearing such a grand lace collar when he did not even have a pair of cuffs? Because of the position of de Pareja’s arm, it is impossible to tell where the waist of his jerkin is positioned, and whether it is more suitable for the 1640s or if it is up to date. Juan de Pareja would have known many representations of Dominic accompanied by his hound, from sixteenth-century paintings like Ambrosius Benson’s St. Dominic from the retablo in the convent of Santa Cruz la Real in Segovia (Fig. Corrections? Privacy Policy (function (w,d) {var loader = function () {var s = d.createElement("script"), tag = d.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.src="https://cdn.iubenda.com/iubenda.js"; tag.parentNode.insertBefore(s,tag);}; if(w.addEventListener){w.addEventListener("load", loader, false);}else if(w.attachEvent){w.attachEvent("onload", loader);}else{w.onload = loader;}})(window, document); The Fashion History Timeline is a project by FIT’s History of Art Department. An extant ensemble made for the Spanish court in 1655 can be seen in figure 10, showing what the Spanish considered a fashionable waistline and silhouette. 3) and large religious scenes (Fig. 16); Pareja’s silohuette appears on the right side of the canvas, with the bright white spot serving as his eye. It has been copied many, many times and often the space in front of it at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is occupied by new artists testing their skills at the easel (Fig. The 1650 portrait is touted as being “from life” and indeed reveals Velázquez’s both literal and figurative control over Juan de Pareja and his image. He is dressed well for a Spanish working-class man, but less fashionably than his enslaver, who can be seen with an exposed shirt in figure 5. Kitchen Scene, 1618/20. Compare de Pareja’s ensemble to the artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s self-portrait from about the same time (Fig. Velázquez died in 1660 after being made a Knight of Santiago (Sánchez). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 91.26.9. 1862 – Elizabeth Keckley, Green plaid day dress, 1995 – Vivienne Tam, “Mao Collection” Dress, This 1995 dress from Vivienne Tam’s Mao collecti, Sophie Gimbel’s black cocktail dress is studded, Queen Elizabeth I’s striking ensemble in The Dit, This ca. 9 - Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo (Spanish, 1612–1667). Source: Prado, Fig. Self-Portrait, ca. Born: c. 1606 Birthplace: West Indies Died: 1670 Location of death: Madrid, Spain Cause of death: unspecified. His lack of white linen cuffs (Fig. His status before he became Velázquez’s possession. Portrait of an unknown man, mid 1650s. Skokloster Castle, Livrustkammaren, T 10547. es Nos brindan buen testimonio de ello pinturas tales como Velázquez pintando a la infanta Margarita con las luces y las sombras de su propia gloria (1958), Las Meninas (1960) y Retrato de Juan de Pareja reparando una cuerda de su mandolina (1960). A close look at the edging on de Pareja’s white collar shows the loose but delicate way that the lace is painted – it is not detailed, but merely suggested. 8) is odd for such a formal portrait, but since it was painted from life, perhaps he either had them off for working or never had any on in the first place. While Juan de Pareja is far from the only Black European to have been a skilled artist during the Renaissance, he is more unusual for having a serious portrait by an artist considered to be an Old Master (Lowe 14). 2). 20 - Omar Victor Diop (Senegalese). A close look at the edging on de Pareja’s white collar shows the loose but delicate way that the lace is painted – it is not detailed, but merely suggested. 9) but any man who kept up with the rest of the continent had done away with them (Fig. If you have suggestions or corrections, please contact us. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, In 1990-1999, 20th century, garment analysis, In 1860-1869, 19th century, garment analysis, In 1970-1979, 1980-1989, BIPOC, designer profile, LGBTQ+, In 1950-1959, 20th century, garment analysis, LGBTQ+, In 1880-1889, 19th century, artwork analysis, LGBTQ+, In 1900-1909, 1910-1919, 20th century, blog, Last updated Aug 12, 2020 | Published on Aug 12, 2020, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (Fig. 17); the book, aimed at children, won a Newbery Medal. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, RP-P-OB-11.589. developed a uniquely personal style characterized by very loose, expressive brushwork” (Sánchez). 5 - Diego Velázquez (Spanish, 1599-1660). The Portrait of Juan de Pareja is a painting by Spanish artist Diego Velázquez of his assistant Juan de Pareja, a notable painter in his own right, who was enslaved and owned by Velázquez at the time the painting was completed. Fig. Pareja was initially Velázquez’s slave and assisted the artist in his studio. 11 & 14). The hanging sleeves on his jerkin could indicate an old set of clothing, but may just as much be the product of lagging Spanish fashion. 1647-50. Kenna Libes holds a Master's degree in Public Humanities from Brown University and has worked in textile conservation, curation, and collections management at various institutions along the East Coast. Account & Lists Account Returns & Orders. London: National Portrait Gallery, NG1315. She believes firmly in bringing a working knowledge of garment construction and historical techniques into analyses of historic dress. Juan de Pareja. Juan de Pareja, pintor español. 15 - Artist unknown. 6 - Artist unknown (Possibly Brazilian). Portret van een zwarte jongen, 1645. While the scene appears to be in the manner of other self-portraits, we would expect that – much like de Pareja – an artist’s self-portrait would never be so caricatural, so this is likely by a white painter. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2). Historia y técnica. His visible garments include a doublet, a jerkin, a cloak or cape, a sword belt, and a collar. 4, left) in the same manner that Velázquez painted himself into the famous Las Meninas (Fig. Ve los perfiles de profesionales con el nombre de «Juan Pareja» en LinkedIn. 8 - Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (attr.) 1 - Diego Velázquez (Spanish, 1599-1660). Historian Antonio Palomino y Velasco published an account of the event in 1715 and wrote that the painting was: Cumming, Valerie, Phillis Cunnington, and C. Willett Cunnington. Respectful and realistic portraits of Black people exist in European portraiture back to. Black Africans and Europeans had a steady presence in southern countries like Spain and Italy from the medieval period, most but not all of which was driven by the slave trade (Kaufmann 4, Lowe 13). This portrait of Juan de Pareja was exhibited at the Pantheon in Italy after it was completed in 1650, and met with acclaim. -- Juan de Pareja, the slave who prepares the paints and canvases of the artist Velázquez, describes his work with his master and the climate of Spanish court life. The hanging sleeves are outdated by this time in other countries; in The Dictionary of Fashion History (2010), Valerie Cumming, C. W. Cunnington, and P. E. Cunnington describe: “Period: ca. He is famous for other portraits as well, including that of Pope Innocent X and his painting of Modena's duke, painted in the city of Madrid in 1638. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Juan-de-Pareja. At the end of the first chapter, Doña Emilia passes along with Juan's master. Detail from The Calling of Saint Matthew, 1661. Aparte de su obra como pintor, Pareja es fundamentalmente recordado por el soberbio retrato que de él realizó su maestro Velázquez durante su segundo viaje a Italia. Juan de Pareja, esclavo de Velázquez, era originario de Antequera (Málaga). Madrid: Museo del Prado, P001174. American artist Kathleen Giljie repainted the portrait to feature Black American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (Fig. He was Spanish of Portuguese descent and was born in Seville in 1599. “Catalogue Entry: Juan de Pareja.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019. [1] Morisco, «de generación mestiza y de color extraño», según Palomino, ayudaba a Velázquez en las tareas de moler los colores y preparar los lienzos. El modelo del retrato es un esclavo de Velázquez llamado Juan de Pareja. He was Spanish of Portuguese descent and was born in Seville in 1599. Juan de Pareja was born to an African mother, Zulema, and a Spanish father, Juan, in Seville in 1606 (Salomon). Hay 300+ profesionales con el nombre de «Juan Pareja» que usan LinkedIn para intercambiar información, ideas y oportunidades. Not only do we have de Pareja as painted by Velázquez, but a self-portrait also exists, as de Pareja added himself into a painting in 1661 (Fig. She is currently a Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice Master's student (class of 2021) and researches, writes, and edits material for the Fashion History Timeline. Among his retinue was a man named Juan de Pareja, who was the mixed-race son of a female slave and, until 1654, a slave to Velázquez himself. Velázquez eventually freed him for unknown reasons in 1654, and de Pareja continued to paint until his death around 1670 (Salomon, Domenech). Juan de Pareja started life in the early 1600s as a biracial slave. As Valerie Steele describes in her 2007 book The Black Dress: “More typical of the 16th century was the fashion for dressing in all black, except for an accent of white at collar and cuffs. Cuando el rey reparó en él e intentó girarlo, Juan de Pareja se arrojó a sus pies confesándose autor del cuadro y le rogó que intercediese para que su amo no le castigase, pues como esclavo no estaba autorizado a pintar. Source: AIC, Fig. 4 - Juan de Pareja (Spanish, c.1606-1670). From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Juan de Pareja (c. 1606 in Antequera – 1670 in Madrid) was a Spanish painter, born into slavery in Antequera, near Málaga, Spain. (Spanish, 1617–1682). Much like the doublet, it is probably made of wool, but might be a plain silk. He became equally adept at painting grand portraits (Fig. Juan de Pareja se aplicó en la realización de un cuadro y lo colocó vuelto contra la pared. Pareja, Juan de.Antequera (Málaga), c. 1610 – Madrid, c. 1670.Pintor. 1985-27. He is known primarily as a member of the household and workshop of painter Diego Velázquez, who freed him in 1650. Oil on canvas; 203.8 x 114.3 cm (80.2 x 45 in). His later work was influenced by other masters like Rubens (Dutch) and Titian (Italian) and he “developed a uniquely personal style characterized by very loose, expressive brushwork” (Sánchez). He executed this portrait while he and de Pareja were in Italy to paint Pope Innocent X in 1650; as the story goes, the window of time to paint the Pope was small and Velázquez decided to practice painting from life on his enslaved assistant (Rousseau 3). Upon the death of his indulgent mistress in Seville, Juan de Pareja was uprooted from the only home he had known and placed in the charge of a vicious gypsy muleteer to be sent north to his mistress's nephew and heir, Diego Velázquez, who recognized at once the intelligence and gentle breeding which were to make Juan his indispensable assistant and companion―and his lifelong friend. His gray jerkin (jacket) has winged shoulders, a line of buttons down the center front, and hanging sleeves. Source: MdBAV, Fig. Revisa las traducciones de 'Juan de Pareja' en Alemán. There is an excellent, Newberry Award-winning middle grade novel about Pareja. Portrait of the Commander of the Order of Sant Iago, 1630s. He was, however, registered as a painter in Seville before he became Velázquez’s assistant in the early 1630s, which was not usually a position an enslaved person could hold (Fahy 23). From 1623 he served as the court painter to the king of Spain, a prestigious position, and created many portraits of royalty and courtiers. I, Juan de Pareja, 1965. 18). Source: Hermitage, Fig. The soft atmosphere of the painting is typical for Velázquez, and if not for the cruel irony in painting his enslaved man so respectfully, this portrait is otherwise as graceful and lovely as those he executed of kings and princesses (Met). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971.86. The portrait was purchased at auction by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1970 for nearly $5.5 million, a record at the time. Last updated Oct 10, 2019 | Published on Mar 24, 2017, Last updated Aug 24, 2018 | Published on Feb 24, 2017, Last updated Mar 8, 2018 | Published on Mar 24, 2017, Last updated Aug 24, 2018 | Published on Mar 24, 2017. 13 - Wenceslaus Hollar (Bohemian, 1607-1677). Pintor español. The man in this portrait, Juan de Pareja, was a skilled Spanish artist of African descent. In the 1650s, doublet waists were newly loose and the most fashionable of men left their buttons open at center front and on sleeves in order to expose their fine white linen shirts (Fig. While others like Rembrandt van Rijn painted and sketched a number of Black people, few are ever named (Kolfin 10). Because it was done by such a famous and revered painter (and is such a prominent public art museum), it has received far more attention than other portraits of Black sitters from this period. Esta curiosa almohada para parejas con un agujero para meter y estirar la mano permite descansar cómodamente sin que se te duerma el brazo por la presión. Oil on canvas; 81.3 x 69.9 cm (32 x 27 1/2 in). Aside from the ostentatious collar, his simple clothing and casual hairstyle indicate his position as a working man. Photograph. Only a few years later, Elizabeth Borton de Treviño published her semi-fictionalized biography I, Juan de Pareja (1965), complete with a cover showing de Pareja guiding a blond Velázquez in adding the Knight of Santiago symbol on his jerkin in Las Meninas (Fig. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Omissions? From 1623 he served as the court painter to the king of Spain, a prestigious position, and created many portraits of royalty and courtiers. Estados Unidos. Pigment inkjet print on paper; 60 x 40 cm. The book follows the story of Juan de Pareja and his life as the slave of Diego de Velázquez, the leading painter in the court of King Philip IV of Spain. Era de origen árabe - como bien se aprecia en sus rasgos - ingresando en el taller del pintor hacia 1630, siendo liberado de su condición de esclavo por el maestro en 1654 y trabajando después como pintor independiente, exhibiéndose algunos de sus cuadros en el Museo del Prado . Oil on linen; (32 ¼ x 28 ¾ in). Oil on canvas; 225 x 325 cm. In 1650, while in Rome, Velázquez signed a legal document that granted Pareja his freedom four years later. He became a painter in his own right, and was eventually freed by Velazquez and became part of his paid studio staff. And indeed, in 1661, he made similar choices – paned sleeves and a pointed moustache. Marquand Collection, Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1890. Oil on canvas; 110.5 x 86.4 cm (43 1/2 x 34 in). Black Artist Completing a Portrait of Maria Anna of Austria, Queen of Portugal (1683-1754), First quarter of the 18th century. 8). De Pareja’s falling band is so broad as to almost be a relic of the 1630s. 3:46. Source: FLV. His early style was naturalistic with a fondness for dramatic shadows and contrasts (Fig. Worn sometimes with jerkins.” (100). “The Lives of African Slaves and People of African Descent in Renaissance Europe.” In, Met. Unless specifically noted, images used in the Timeline are not subject to this Creative Commons License applied to the written work from the Timeline. Juan de Pareja was born to an African mother, Zulema, and a Spanish father, Juan, in Seville in 1606 (Salomon). Velázquez painted the portrait in Rome, while was traveling in Italy, in 1650. Velázquez treated many details of costume like this, so while his portraits are beautiful examples of clothing, the precise characteristics are often lost (Sánchez). According to early writers, Pareja painted in the manner of Velázquez, but his only known portrait is a mere reflection of Velázquez’s style. 19 - Kathleen Gilje (American, 1945-present). Murillo also wears Spanish black, but sports flamboyant paned sleeves that expose his shirt along with a small upright collar (golilla) and very fashionable hair and moustache (Cumming 94). Oil on canvas; 208 x 138 cm. 19) and Senegalese artist Omar Victor Diop reimagined himself as de Pareja through the lens of soccer (Fig. Fig. Oil on canvas; 320.5 x 281.5 cm. Oil on canvas; 107 x 77.5 cm (42 1/8 x 30 1/2 in). Sembrando Esperanza Costa Noroeste Tv. 12 - Artist unknown (Spanish). 1) is considered to be one of the most important artists of the seventeenth century (Sánchez). Juan de Pareja, byname El Esclavo (Spanish: “The Slave”), (born c. 1610, Antequera, Spain—died 1670, Madrid), Spanish painter and student of Diego Velázquez. “Velázquez, Diego.”, Spicer, Joaneath. Hello, Sign in. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Black ensembles were fashionable in most of Europe for the first half of the sixteenth century; variation in hairstyle, collar width, and silhouette are often the only ways to date a portrait. Juan de Pareja is certainly not the only Black portraitist to have existed during this period, but we are lucky to both know his story and have multiple depictions of him (Spicer 83). Sembrando Esperanza - El matrimonio, la pareja - Juan Varela - 25.02.2017. La figura de Juan de Pareja, al igual que la de otros tantos pintores del círculo más próximo a Velázquez, sigue sin contar con un estudio definitivo. Brother Isidro saves Juan from death and brings him to a group of people. 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