OCTOBER 28, 2014 – FEBRUARY 15, 2015

VELÁZQUEZ In the autumn of 2014 the Kunsthistorisches Museum presents the first-ever monograph exhibition on Diego Velázquez (1599 -1660) in a German-speaking country. Showcasing some of his most important paintings, the exhibition offers a comprehensive survey of the Spanish court-painter’s rich and varied Œuvre. In addition to the portraits of Spanish princes and princesses in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum the show includes numerous seminal works representing different genres, which will be on show in Vienna for the first time.

Diego Velázquez – more than a portrait painter Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez was born in Seville. A child prodigy, he became court painter to King Philip IV at the age of twenty-four, a position he held until the end of his life. Producing official portraits of the king and his family is among the main duties of a court-painter but Velázquez widened his circle of sitters to include other members of the court, developing a psychological view of his sitters so profound and modern that his portraits continue to capture the imagination of all who see them. In addition to portraits, Velázquez also produced work in other genres then popular in Spain: kitchen still lifes and religious paintings at the beginning of his career, later mythologies and history paintings. His fluid, open handling and subtle palette – inspired by Titian and El Greco – sets his work apart from that of his contemporaries. But more than anything else it is his highly individual view of man, of his world, and of a story’s plot lines that distinguishes his work from contemporary painting and makes him such a unique artist. As an outsider, a loner he often selected unusual subject matters that perfectly encapsulate the picture’s philosophical dimension, such as in, for example, „Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan“. The „Painter of Painters“ – Velázquez in the 19th century Soon after Velázquez was rediscovered in the 19th century, he was crowned „painter of painters“ by Edouard Manet and celebrated as a precursor of Impressionism. In his epochal monograph „Velázquez and his Century“ the German art-historian Carl Justi introduced the Spanish master into German and international art history. Since then Velázquez has occupied centre stage in art historical discourse; the main focus here is on his distinctive, poetic and enigmatic choice of subject matters. His highly naturalistic, stunningly realistic view of objects sets him apart from contemporary painting. In the 19th and 20th century his compositions inspired Francisco de Goya, Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon and Salvador Dali, to name but a few. Important international loans The close family and political ties between the branches of the house of Habsburg that ruled in Vienna and Madrid in the 17th century are the reason why the Picture Gallery of the

Kunsthistorisches Museum houses outstanding portraits by the court-painter of the King of Spain. Thanks to our collaboration with the Prado in Madrid, which holds the major part of Velázquez’ Œuvre, numerous important works will be on show in Vienna, among them the large „Adoration of the Magi“ painted during Velázquez’ first Italian sojourn, his psychologically complex mythology „Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan“, and moving portraits of court dwarfs and hombres del placer such as „Don Juan de Austria“ and „Calabazillas“. In addition, the Prado is lending „Equestrian Portrait of Balthasar Carlos“ and a portrait of the king’s brother Don Carlos, the most magnificent full-length portrait from the beginning of Velázquez’ court career, and the Villa Medici in Rome his celebrated landscape study. Additional important loans are the „Water Sellar of Seville“ from Apsley House in London, bodegones (kitchen still lifes) from the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, and „Prince Bathasar Carlos with a Dwarf“ from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. But the highpoint is surely art history’s most famous female nude seen from behind, the so-called „Rokeby Venus“ from the National Gallery in London.

PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS

Press photographs may be used free of charge when writing about the exhibition; to download them go to press.khm.at.

Diego Velázquez Prince Baltasar Carlos on horseback 1634-1635 214,5 x 177 cm © Photographic Archive, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Diego Velázquez The Rokeby Venus 1647-51 122,5 x 177 cm © The National Gallery, London

Diego Velázquez The Adoration of the Magi 1619 203 x 125 cm © Photographic Archive, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Diego Velázquez Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan 1630 223 x 290 cm © Photographic Archive, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Diego Velázquez The court jester Don Juan de Austria 1632 - 1633 210 x 123 cm © Photographic Archive, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Diego Velázquez The court jester Juan de Calabazas (Calabacillas) 1637 - 1639 106 x 83 cm © Photographic Archive, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Diego Velázquez Prince Felipe Próspero 1659 129 x 100 cm © KHM

Diego Velázquez The Infanta Margarita in a pink dress c. 1653 / 1654 129 x 100 cm © KHM

Diego Velázquez The Infanta Margarita in a white dress c. 1656 105 x 88 cm © KHM

Diego Velázquez The Infanta Margarita in a blue dress 1659 126 x 106 cm © KHM

Diego Velázquez The Infanta Maria Teresa c. 1652 / 1653 127 x 98,5 cm © KHM

Diego Velázquez (workshop) King Philip IV of Spain c. 1652-53 47 x 37,5 cm © KHM

Diego Velázquez (workshop) The Waterseller c. 1620-22 106,7 x 81 cm London, Apsley House, The Wellington Museum © English Heritage

Diego Velázquez Luis de Góngora y Argote 1622 50,2 x 40,6 cm © Boston, Museum of Fine Arts

Diego Velázquez Prince Baltasar Carlos with a dwarf 1632 136 x 104 cm © Boston, Museum of Fine Arts

OPENING HOURS AND ENTRANCE FEES

Tuesdays - Sundays, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. Annual Ticket € 34* Adults € 14 Vienna Card € 13 Concessions € 11 Children under 19 free Group ticket (p.p.) € 10 Audio Guide (german / english) € 4

GUIDED TOURS

Would you like to book a guided tour? Please contact: +43 1 525 24 - 5202 kunstvermittlung@khm.at

EXHIBITION CATALOGUE

A catalogue will be published in conjunction with the exhibition.

PRESS OFFICE

Nina Auinger-Sutterlüty, MAS Head of Public Relations Kunsthistorisches Museum mit ÖTM und MVK Burgring 5, 1010 Vienna T +43 1 525 24 - 4021 info.pr@khm.at www.khm.at